


Early awakening

by Crimson Ballet (Magicspacedragon), Magicspacedragon



Series: So much to hold onto [1]
Category: Kingdom Hearts (Video Games)
Genre: AU, Aqua could kick my Ass and I would thank her, Aqua saving Riku from the Realm of Darkness is a better explanation than what CoM gave us, Axel/Lea is stuck as the dad friend, Badass Aqua (Kingdom Hearts), Confused Owl Ford, DIZ IS MEAN, During CoM/Days, Gen, God why does Days make me so sad, Gravity Falls world (Kingdom Hearts), I dunk on Even, I’ll tag Disney characters when they become relevant, Kairi is tired, Kairi isn’t useless!, Kairi remembers Sora after CoM, Multi, New Au, Not Canon Compliant, Phil is a bit Sexist, Roxas Is So Done (Kingdom Hearts), Roxas and Xion are my babies I’m so sorry, Sorry Not Sorry, Ven stares into the abyss, What if Ventus was found by Naminé in Chain of Memories?, Why did I have to tag Lea and Axel separately, Xion still dies, the gang goes shopping, vanitas is an asshole, who is that other dog?
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-24
Updated: 2021-01-10
Packaged: 2021-03-06 14:55:16
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 16
Words: 40,520
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26090734
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Magicspacedragon/pseuds/Crimson%20Ballet, https://archiveofourown.org/users/Magicspacedragon/pseuds/Magicspacedragon
Summary: What if Naminé found Ventus’ heart inside Sora’s during his restoration in CoM and days? Would Kairi really just forget Sora and leave her boys to their own devices? The Sea Salt Trio get family bonding. Riku is still sad!This AU fic sprout up From a single question my sister and I asked a while back, what would Naminé do if she found Ventus? From there, I built on other ideas I had to make this monstrosity. It’s not very well thought out, but I hope you like it!
Relationships: Aeleus & Ansem the Wise | DiZ & Dilan & Even & Ienzo, Ansem the Wise | DiZ & Naminé, Ansem the Wise | DiZ & Riku, Aqua & Naminé (Kingdom Hearts), Aqua & Riku (Kingdom Hearts), Aqua & Terra & Ventus (Kingdom Hearts), Aqua & Ventus (Kingdom Hearts), Axel & Roxas & Xion (Kingdom Hearts), Axel & Roxas (Kingdom Hearts), Donald Duck & Goofy & Sora (Kingdom Hearts), Hercules/Meg (Kingdom Hearts), Kairi & Naminé (Kingdom Hearts), Kairi & Riku & Sora (Kingdom Hearts), Kairi & Riku (Kingdom Hearts), Kairi & Sora (Kingdom Hearts), Kairi/Riku/Sora (Kingdom Hearts), Larxene & Marluxia (Kingdom Hearts), Lea & Isa, Naminé & Riku (Kingdom Hearts), Naminé & Roxas (Kingdom Hearts), Naminé & Ventus (Kingdom Hearts), Riku & Ventus (Kingdom Hearts), Roxas & Xion (Kingdom Hearts), Terra & Ventus (Kingdom Hearts), Vanitas & Ventus (Kingdom Hearts), Ventus & Riku, riku & mickey
Series: So much to hold onto [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2066334
Comments: 10
Kudos: 56





	1. An anomaly

Naminé worked tirelessly. DIZ didn’t let her stop after all, well, not unless she wanted to get berated, or locked in a closet. She liked having the work though, it distracted her from her thoughts, which often grew dark. She sighed, and stepped back, she came to a strange kink in her patient’s; Sora’s memories, one that couldn’t be explained by the Nobody. 

DIZ was not present in the mansion, so she sat down at the small table in her room, and brought out her pencils. The one thing Naminé felt truly owned.

She loved drawing, she read that many people found it a stress relief and she thought that was part of her love. But, for her she also loved the act of creation, to have something she did become real, and she could make that something be whatever she wanted. So, she drew her perfect world. 

She hummed some old tune her companions brought back from the other world. The song was a plea, she didn’t know what it was pleading for, but she did know it was for. It was for people like her; outcasts. So she hummed the song a little more, making the plea her own, for herself. 

She was incredibly lonely, so she found herself drawing her perfect world in reflection of that. It was all friendly blues and greens, with a hint of yellow for the sun. The beaches of her world were clear and lined with tall trees she knew she would never get to see herself. Cliffs covered in old mosses and age connected the beach, and old rickety wooden platforms wound around the area. It was her perfect world, one that existed, for sure, but one she would never visit.

She drew herself playing with the island's inhabitants, something she would never get to do, and she felt her voice break as she hummed. She made a conscious effort not to cry.

The perfect place she drew was done, it was a picture of destiny islands. Next, she thought she would draw a city. Bustling and full. The city would be filled with warm colors and angles, but be just as welcoming. After all, she only drew the places she would never go to. 

She started the drawing, pencil to paper, the first sketch of a skyline, a clock tower in the distance, humming to herself, and thinking deeply. The kink in Sora’s memories were odd, no it was more than odd, it just didn’t seem like it should be there. But, I’d she was any less attentive, she knew she could’ve just, not noticed it. For an anomaly to be that well hidden, it would have to have been there for a very long time, before she had messed with Sora’s heart in the first place. 

She stopped drawing and re-examined her work. The anomaly was dense, full, when she probed it further it oddly drew back, but not before she got the faintest hint of something. Memories, connections, friendships, emotions, a personality, and so much more. 

Naminé was an expert, she knew what she felt, but she just couldn’t believe it. She probed again, focusing on that distant, but so very dense, _thing_ that was in her friend’s heart. It didn’t escape her grasp, she tugged ever so slightly on a memory, it was disconnected from the rest of Sora’s memories. She took a deep breath, so many things could go wrong, she didn’t want to hurt Sora again, and she didn’t want to hurt this… thing ethier. But she had to know. For DIZ, for Kairi, for Riku, for Sora, and for whatever this memory represented.

She took the memory, and like unfolding a scarf to see how it was done, she felt a little like she was violating someone’s privacy as she peered inside the memory.

She didn’t at first understand what she saw, the memory was quiet, even faint, but it was strong. It at first looked like it was just the night sky, until a face appeared. It was that of a woman, pale skin, and short, blue hair cut into a short strategic bob. She was saying something, Naminé strained to hear it, but couldn’t make out any words. Just a soft melodic voice. 

A man stepped out next, longer brown hair, warm brown eyes, tall and bulky. He was oddly familiar to Naminé, but she could not place the feeling. She watched as the three friends joked around, okay fought, and enjoyed each other. Naminé sat, entranced by the scene, not even looking for anything in particular. Tears formed at her eyes, why was she crying? Looking down as she tears it off the floor, Naminé discovers something. The reflection of the boy in the window was familiar, it was the same face that Sora’s nobody held, but it was not Sora’s nobody. 

Naminé stopped the memory, and wiped the tears from her eyes. She had confirmation. The anomaly in Sora’s heart was more than just a kink in his memories, more than just another mistake made by her. That anomaly was another heart, inside of Sora’s, resting, but not doing anything.

Namine started to pace. What should she do? She wondered. Logically, she didn’t need to do anything, it had obviously been there for quite a long time, and she had no doubt Sora could wake up without her doing anything about it. DIZ would probably tell her to ignore it. But, Naminé had a feeling that she might be the only person in the world aware of this heart’s, this person’s existence. She couldn’t ignore that, she couldn’t ignore the fact that someone out there was missing their heart.

Would’ve it even created a nobody? Or is that boy’s body just resting somewhere, in stasis, waiting for it’s heart to return.

“Naminé,” DIZ’s voice rang out through the silence. She looked up at the cloaked man, wanting to say something important.

“Yes DIZ,” she said instead. 

“We have a visitor.” DIZ stepped aside for a young boy. He didn’t look like he was much older than Sora. He had white hair that came down to his shoulders, and piercing blue eyes. He was already almost as tall as DIZ and in his arms he carried a cloak.

He looked determined, but behind that, Naminé could feel that he was tired, and sad. Naminé knew who the boy was, it was Riku, the other boy who was journeying through castle oblivion.

DIZ and Naminé told Riku almost everything. How she lied, what the organization tried to do, what the replica was, and what happened to Sora. Riku took it all, assuming responsibility for his friend and taking it in stride. But Naminé couldn’t help but notice how tired he was, and how angry. She noticed the anger start as she told her part of the story, her lies and her deception. It built and built, Naminé couldn’t blame him, he lost a friend.

“I’m not letting him down this time,” Riku had said. As if he hadn’t gotten trapped in the Realm of Darkness trying to help Sora. Naminé knew what Sora thought of him, she knew that Sora did not think ill of Riku.

“I’m sorry,” Naminé said to Riku after finishing the story.

“For what?”

Naminé shook her head. “Ne-never mind, I’ll try to restore Sora the best I can.” 

“You’re so formal.” Riku had come over to Naminé and rested a hand in her shoulder.

“Excuse me?” 

“Never mind,” Riku paused for a moment. “Can you tell me about what you're doing?” Naminé was surprised by the question, but she obliged him, explaining some of the ins and outs of her power. At some point in her explanation , DIZ left, no comment, it was just that one time Namine looked over her shoulder he was there, and the next, he was gone. She looked over to Riku, who was in deep thought.

“What’s the weirdest thing you’ve seen?” He asked. His eyes were wide in a look of morbid curiosity.

“Well one time I took a peek at Marluxia's heart, he’s got a bunch of faded memories, and I don’t know why. Honestly it looks like he was deliberately suppressing them! But I know nothing in his history that would suggest a need too!” She smiled up at Riku.

“Lair.”

“Wha… excuse me?!”

“I can tell you’re lying Naminé come-on! Give me the juicy details!” Riku exclaimed. Naminé sighed. 

“Fine, but… I’ve just recently found it, I know very little, and…” 

“And what?” Riku asked, eagerly.

“It involves Sora.” Riku’s eyes squinted with suspicion and then widened when he realized Naminé was telling the truth. He sighed.

“What did you do?” He asked. Namine heard the pain in his voice. She knew why he thought it was her, she had made enough mistakes to have this attributed to her.

She sighed. “It wasn’t me who caused it…” Riku perked up, keenly listening. “I had found a… well I’ll describe it as a lump. A lump in the mesh of Sora’s heart. At the time I was… restoring some older memories related to Kairi, and then I found it. It seemed at first to be a knot or a kink, possibly caused by… carelessness on my part, but, upon further investigation it looked very old. Like it had been there for most of his life.” 

“Hold on what? Most of his life? Are you sure it wasn’t like a keyblade mark or something ?” Riku asked. 

“Yes I am, keyblades barely leave any mark, and trust me more people than you think have one, they might just never actually summon a keyblade… like you,” Namine said. Riku spluttered, but she carried on. “Anyway, it was old and _dense; there_ were too many memories for it to be a simple knot or kink. Upon closer inspection, I noticed all the memories in this anomaly were actually disconnected to Sora’s, although they were... touching. Anyway I looked inside the memory, you’ll never guess what I found. The memories definitely were not Sora’s, and there were so many of them, so when I looked inside I saw exactly what I expected; the memories of someone else. A blond boy to be precise, I don’t think you would recognize him, blue eyes, short, he never showed up in any of Sora’s memories… there were two other people there, a young, blue haired woman, and a taller, brown haired man. Those two also weren’t in Sora’s memory, that anomaly as far as I could tell, was someone’s heart resting inside Sora’s” 

Naminé looked up at Riku for an answer, or perhaps just a reaction. The boy looked to be in a bit of shock. His eyes were squinted like he was thinking hard, and Naminé was worried he was mad at her, possibly again. 

“Can… can you draw the people you saw?” Riku asked, he still looked like he was in a daze of some sort. Naminé nodded and sat down at her drawing table to get to work.

Namié had a mixed relationship with drawing people. She always felt a pang of loneliness every time she drew someone, but it was important, to her, and for those people. Drawing someone, she felt, was personal, like taking a picture of them, preserving a moment forever. This was no different, as she strained herself to get a better image of the people, she realized how many of the memories had those three together. They were friends. Naminé scratched in the blue hair of the woman, with black at the roots were the dye was wearing off. She was finished with one, now the others. The man still looked oddly familiar, his long hair was styled in a way that tugged at the back of her mind. She didn’t know why though, as he had some of the friendliest eyes she had seen, and most of the people Naminé knew were not friendly. She knew what the boy looked like, she had seen him in Sora’s Nobody, and she knew Riku wouldn’t get anything from it , but she drew him anyway.

Naminé was finished in an hour, during that hour Riku hardly moved, just staring at the ground, with an expression of grief and determination on his face. She passed him the drawing of the boy first, explaining him as the owner of the heart, Riku handed it back. She sighed, and gave him the other two drawings. Riku’s face immodestly changed to the same stricken expression that it had when Naminé first explained the mysterious heart. But there was another look, Naminé knew it, he had recognized the people she had drawn,

Riku shakily held up the picture of the man. “I met him… I met him once I was really little. He-he told me a secret, and he supposedly gave me the power to protect my friends, to… protect what matters. But… well you know what happened.” Naminé nodded, she knew about Riku’s ambitions. Riku looked like he was about to break down.

“And the other one?” Naminé asked, hoping to steer the conversation away from his guilt. He swallowed, shaking even more.

“I-I met her in the Realm of Darkness.” 

### A few days ago, in the Realm of Darkness.

Riku was tired, and he knew why. He had failed in a way, given in to darkness, and he hurt his friends. After what he did,, he couldn’t muster the strength to do anything, he thought he deserved it in a way, for betraying not only them, but everyone. He had been fighting heartless for ages, and had left the king a long time ago. He was exhausted. So he let himself sink further into the void he was in, sleeping, sinking. His dreams were just _his_ voice, calling out to him. He heard footsteps. But he did nothing.

“Oh, you poor thing,” a voice said. It sounded a little like Kairi, but older, deeper. It still sounded melodic and soothing, so he still did nothing. Not that he had the energy to do anything. He felt strong arms pick him up, gently, and he felt himself being carried. First bridal style, then he felt himself be put onto the person’s back.

“Let’s get you out of here.” There was a sigh. “Riku? Right?” The voice said. This time it sounded a lot like Kairi. In fact, Riku knew it was her. That’s how it knew his name, that's why she was helping.

“Kairi?” Riku asked. His voice was rougher than he thought. It had a low croak to it and was so quiet his own thoughts were louder. But it was Kairi, Kairi was here, she forgave him and everything will be okay.

“I’m not Kairi,” the voice answered, sounding both tired and sad. “But I met one once, are you her friend?” Kairi was lying. She sounded older and sadder but in his exhaustion he knew it was Kairi. Or at least he thought it was Kairi, could be Sora. The two did have a habit of messing with him. Then again looking at her a little she didn’t look like Kairi, but who else could it be.

“Kairi,” he rambled on, ignoring her question. “Remember when we were little, n’ Sora and I, we got into a prank war, and he hid all my socks? I still haven’t found those socks… did you have a part in that? Anyway, I miss those times… I’m… sorry,” he found tears forming in his eyes. He was alone, and, as tough as he acted, he hated being alone. He felt himself being placed down, and a thumb brush the corners of his eyes. It was gentle, almost motherly. Riku felt himself lean into the gesture.

“I can’t carry you all the way, come-on, we’re on our way, you just gotta walk a little farther,” it was Kairi again. She looked taller and older and her hair was longer. She stood up and reached out her hand for Riku to take. He took it. He found himself walking alongside… Kairi, holding her hand as she brought him to a small door. She looked at him with a sad fondness.

“Come on, the world of light is on the other side, the portal… it’s unstable, only one of us can get through,” she said with a solemn tone. Her voice never broke.

“But what about you?” Riku heard himself ask. His voice was stronger, but still weak.

“I’ll be fine, you go,” the woman’s voice still had grief in it, though the grief was not unlike his own. Riku stepped through the door into the nothingness beyond, he felt a great rush fill him. He took a look behind him, at his savior, and saw her for what felt like the first time. She looked sad, scars running down her face, arms, and legs. Her clothes were tattered and old, several places looked like they were patched with another material. Her hair was long, past her shoulders, unevenly cut, and matted. The blue hair was pulled back into a loose ponytail. It was her eyes that got to Riku the most though, their deep indigo was incredibly sad, and he could see tear tracks on her face. This woman was an adult, and incredibly sad, but most of all, she wasn’t Kairi. No matter who he thought she was, he was upset he never learned her real name.

The door closed behind Riku, and he found himself lying on the floor of an odd room. The entire room was white, except for a large blue card laying in front of Riku’s face.

“Well, that place was a boring place to take a nap anyway,” Riku said with a little too much confidence. He picked up the card, inscribed on it, was a picture of the castle at hollow bastion… that place. He saw another door in front of him, and decided to take a look at what was behind it. 

### Present 

Riku finished telling the story of the woman who saved his life. He looked sad, Naminé knew why of course, but she was struck by the fact that Riku didn’t have his usual determination. Did he know that they might never be able to rescue her? His breathing was heavy, she didn’t know what to do.

“Well… now I know this wasn’t something… I don’t know, it lends some credence to what I saw.” Naminè murmured.

“What, who wouldn’t believe you?” Riku asked, his voice broke a little as he talked. Naminé left the question unanswered, but the answer hung in the air. DIZ, DIZ wouldn’t believe her. 

Riku sighed. “I don’t want to leave, I hated it here for the most part but, you’re cool, and… well his majesty can’t travel with me, so I’ll be alone. I don’t want to be alone.” He looked away. Naminé couldn’t think of what to do, she put her hand on his shoulder and smiled, telling him he’ll be ok. They said their goodbyes, Riku put on the cloak (which Naminé felt suited him in a strange way), and Riku left. Leaving Naminé alone. With her work and her thoughts

DIZ came back a few hours later. He asked Naminé about her progress, and afterward, he paced. His dark cloak trailing behind him as he walked endless laps around the room. Sometimes, Naminé would catch him stopping to look at one of Her drawings, but never he never said anything. His pacing was stressful for Naminé out, but she never said anything. Then DiZ stopped, which scared Naminé, bent down, and picked something up. 

“Naminé, what is this?” DIZ was holding the drawing of the blue haired woman in his gloved hand. Naminé shrunk back in her seat. His head was held high, as it always was, and his deep amber eyes stirred with suspicion, she was scared of him.

“It’s… a drawing. Of a woman I saw, Riku asked me to draw it…”

“And were did you see this woman?” Asked DIZ. The question was what Naminé feared, how could she explain what she saw? He would never believe her. 

“I… I saw her in some memories… in Sora’s heart,” Naminé told the truth. DIZ stopped, and looked over to Naminé with something odd in his eyes.

“Not his memories?”

“No… DIZ, when I was looking in Sora’s heart I found another heart inside it. That woman was very prominent in the memories there. Riku asked me to draw the people in the memories, so I did.” Naminé’s fingernails dig into her skin. She wouldn’t tell DIZ about Riku’s meeting with the woman, it was private.

“Naminé, I suppose it would interest you to know who this woman is.” DIZ explained. “This woman is Master Aqua, the only true surviving Keyblade master, other than his majesty. She has been trapped inside the Realm of Darkness for ten years. It would be very helpful if you tried to get her out.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, some bits and pieces. First, the idea that created this AU, Naminé discovering Ventus, my idea is that memories create the foundation of hearts, and Naminé can see those foundations. Thus me describing the memories like strings, cause it’s like a tapestry.  
> Naminé’s power restriction is lame, so I discarded it, she can look into anyone’s memories, she just has to know them.  
> Riku is smarter than Sora, but not by much.  
> Riku being saved by Aqua is another idea I talked about with my sister (who beta reads all my stuff), even though Aqua didn’t exist in Chain of memories, her saving Riku was just too good of an idea. It also helps with the plot later on.
> 
> Next Chapter, a princess is very angry that her two best friends just disappeared.


	2. Missing

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kairi really wishes her boys brought her with them... and much to her dismay, everyone seems to be ignoring their disappearance.

Kairi knew a few things, if you asked her, she would say she knew a lot. So, when, just days ago everyone on destiny islands started acting like Sora did not exist, she knew something was wrong. Sora was not someone you just forgot, even when Kairi asked his mother about him, all she had were vague memories of a son who’d left the islands long ago. It must be an elaborate prank she decided, her evidence was that Riku had gone missing around the same time. Sora and Riku managed to get the entire island in on a terrible prank. She wouldn’t put it past them. One thing nagged at her mind, they were supposed to leave on the raft, together and even after everything, she still wondered, why wasn’t she there, with them, why didn’t Sora come find her after everything? 

She was going to find her boys, no matter what trouble they had gotten into. She had checked almost every part of the islands, except their favorite one, but with Riku and Sora gone, Kairi’s father felt uncomfortable allowing her to go alone. He was ignoring the fact that Kairi was not 10 anymore, and that she could take care of herself, at least a little bit. 

Finally she made a decision, she would sneak off to the island and look there, she didn’t care if she got caught, this joke had gone on long enough! She had everything planned, she would ask one of the fishermen to take her to the island. Then she would take a look around, and come back on a different boat, maybe the one she, Sora, and Riku usually used. If she could row back, of course. She had started to pack items for the trip as well, some snacks, water bottle, sleeping bag if she had to stay the night, binoculars, another water bottle, and a knife she stole from the kitchen, just in case she ran into trouble. 

So when night came, Kairi snuck out of her house, and to the nearest fishing boats. Riku’s father was a fisherman, and often brought them to the island when they were young, so Kairi assumed she could ride with him. She made her way to their house, but before she could knock, she heard commotion inside. Two people were talking inside the tiny fishing cabin, one voice she recognized as Riku’s father, the other a random citizen of the islands. Riku’s dad sounded angry.

“You can’t just, give up on finding my son!” He shouted. Kairi’s eyes narrowed, so other people were looking?

“You have to face the facts, Riku has always been something of a… wanderer, a troublemaker if you will. Not saying that he wasn’t a good kid but… I mean, everyone kinda just, expected him to run off one day. He was always talking about wanting something more,” the other said. Kairi had recognized him, it was one of the other fishermen, who always scoffed at Riku’s dad for taking time out of his day to take them to the islands. 

“What? So I’m just supposed to ignore the fact that my son ran away!? What if he’s lost, or hurt, what if he drowned in the damn ocean!” Riku’s father always said he had a temper but this was the first time Kairi had witnessed any anger come from him. 

“Well, it’s one less mouth to feed, isn’t it?” Kairi heard herself gasp and fall back onto her knees. There was a long silence that followed after.

“Get out,” was all Riku’s dad said. “Now.” Kairi heard the back door open and close with a creek. She sat there, essentially in their flowerbed, wondering if she should really ask him to take her to the island. But, one thing did stand out, if Riku and Sora were actually missing… then why did no-one remember Sora. 

She peeked through the small window into the house, there was no glass, only a small net covering it to keep insects out. Kairi saw Riku’s dad sitting there, head in his hands. He looked older than Kairi had ever felt was possible, skin permanently tanned, wrinkles stretching across his arms, graying hair barely hanging onto his head. She pearched herself up to get a better look, when she fell. 

Kairi made a loud squeak as she fell off her perch onto the wooden platforms below. She heard running from in the house, and Riku’s dad came into the doorway, and helped her up, 

“Kairi” he acknowledged. He looked sad. 

“Oh, ummm hi! Sorry I was just around and was going to ask you about how your search for Riku was going… but then…” Kairi didn’t know what to say, she didn’t want to tell him she was spying on him.

“You were spying, weren't you?” Oh, there it is.

“Uhhh… yeah, sorry.” Kairi shuffled her feet.

“Is there anything you need?” Riku’s dad asked. Kairi stared into his warm brown eyes for a moment, she didn’t want to let him down.

“I was going to ask if you would bring me to Riku… and I”s favorite island, so I could look for him, can you?” Kairi didn’t know what the answer might be, but she had to ask. 

“Always.” Riku’s dad waved his arm to signal Kairi to follow. They walked along the faintly lit wooden pathways that lead to the docks. Kairi was deep in thought, did people really forget Sora, if she asked, would Riku’s dad remember? She hadn’t risked getting him confused when asking for the ride, but her curiosity was still there. 

“Thank you,” was all Kairi felt safe to say.

“Your welcome, I’m… partially doing this for me too. I already lost my wife, I can’t lose our son.”

Oh right, Kairi suddenly felt out of place. She wasn’t going to bring up Sora, this man was confused enough, he was sad enough. 

The world, to Kairi, always felt like the ocean, in the islands it was calm, orderly, the tide always coming in at the same time. But, Kairi heard stories of violent ocean storms, huge waves, and monsters, but she was never scared, never felt the danger of living by the ocean, until recently. Suddenly, her life was no-longer peaceful, she had been to another world, and seen the suffering of its inhabitants, suddenly, she was very aware of how unpredictable the ocean might be. She just hoped that her boys weren’t caught up in the waves.

Kairi saw the play island come into view, the small wooden platforms built by the kids, the tall palm trees, the caves she always loved to explore. It all hit her with nostalgia. She got off the boat, waved goodbye to Riku’s dad, and found herself with an entire island to explore. She found herself aimlessly wandering toward the tree she, Riku, and Sora so often sat under. She climbed up onto it, more for her sake than any other, and looked out over the island. It didn’t look like anyone had been there in days, but Kairi wasn’t about to just give up. She scanned the area again, if she was two annoying boys, where would she hide? Kairi wondered. She would start with their cave, the one covered in the drawings.

Kairi hopped off her branch, and made her way to the cave, making a point to keep her eyes out for any footprints or other signs of another person. Sadly, there were no signs at all as she reached the cave. She ducked inside the cave, no signs either. 

Kairi looked in amusement at the many drawings that covered the cave walls. Most were made by her or Sora, but every now and then she saw one of the drawings Riku made. Most of the drawings were of monsters, knights, or anything else that they could think of. But her favorite drawing was the one on the far wall, the one that pictures Sora and Kairi sharing a paopu fruit together. At least, that’s what it should’ve been.

Sora was missing in the drawing, the little sketchy, wall drawing Kairi was holding a pauper fruit out to no-one. Kairi knew Sora was in that drawing, and she knew that wasn’t something that someone could just erase as a joke. She clenched her fist, something was going terribly wrong. 

Kairi almost stomped out of the cave, barely even making a decision or were to look next. She decided to look in the far beach, were Riku was right before everything went to shit.

She was halfway there when she saw the figure standing on the beach. He was wearing a long black cloak with the hood pulled up that looked like it was out of one of Sora’s crazy comic books. The figure wasn’t built like a comic book villain, it looked like a kid, a tall kid, but still a kid. When she got closer to the figure, Kairi gasped, she knew who it was.

Ever since she was little, Kairi felt like she could sense people, she always knew who was sneaking up on her, she knew the family member who was coming over to surprise her family, she even once freaked out when meeting a relative that “gave her a strange vibe” she later learned this relative beat his wife, Kairi never knew why she could do this until recently, when she learned about her status as a princess of heart. She assumed it was some strange power that allowed her to sense people’s hearts, like with Sora and his heartless. So, Kairi was absolutely certain that the cloaked figure standing in front of her was Riku.

“Riku?” She asked, her voice more tentative than it realized. The figure’s hooded head snapped around, and stared at her, startled. Kairi found tears forming at the corners of her eyes. “It better be you Riku!”

The figure turned around slowly, as if staring in disbelief. “Kairi? What’re you-“ Kairi broke into a run toward the figure cutting him off. She knew it was Riku, she recognized the voice, and how else would he know her name?

Kairi grabbed Riku and pulled him into a hug. At the same time, she reached up her arms to pull down his hood. He looked the same as he did when he left, same long grey-blue hair that needed a cut, same eyes, same everything. He just looked a little sadder. Kairi found herself tearing up.

“Ka-Kairi, what’s?” Riku started, but Kairi cut him off.

“Where were you two!” Kairi found herself half shouting half crying. “You just, leave me here, you-know I can do stuff… ugh, your both idiots. Anyway, what are you wearing? And… where's Sora?” Riku’s eyes widened, Kairi didn’t blame him for being shocked, but she was going to get an explanation.

“Well… umm, Sora is, like… how do I describe it? He’s basically in a coma, he did somthing stupid and… yeah,” Riku’s explanation sounded rough, like he was still processing it.

“Mhmm, he did  _ this _ after I told him he needed to stay safe!” 

“Uh, yes, I told you it was stupid.”

“Okay, okay, whatever, now, were is he?”

“Oh, he’s on another world, someone is helping him recover, the world is called castle- '' Riku was cut off as he suddenly started coughing. He looked startled, even scared. Kairi went to grab him, help or something, but before she could do anything, Riku summoned an odd looking shadowy portal, and left. Kairi was having none of that, so before the portal closed, she ran in after him.

Kairi had no idea were the portal took her, the area looked dark, and she couldn’t see Riku. The door behind her looked closed, so Kairi, had just gotten herself lost. She refused to give up, walking down the corridor, she looked for signs of openings, and soon enough she found one. She practically ran through it, not stopping to look.

Kairi tripped and fell on a marble staircase. She didn’t have an idea of where she was, but it was better than the corridors. She looked up from her prone position on the floor to take in her surroundings. 

Her surroundings were covered in marble. Everywhere Kairi looked, she saw another marble statue or building. Smaller wooden huts did exist, but they were overshadowed by the large pillars, statues, and temples. The staircase Kairi was on was connected to a path that led to a large, circular walled building, filled with large arches. The word colosseum came to Kairi’s mind from an old history class. 

Kairi picked herself off the ground and started toward the colosseum. The people in the world didn’t seem to notice Kairi all that much, but she knew there could be dangerous people, and she was forever grateful that she brought a knife, and that, she still had her bag with her. However Kairi still looked around in awe, this was the first time in her memory she had ever been to another world, another world other than traverse town, that is, and it was amazing, it was so different from the islands, but still felt friendly in some strange way. The islands were rough, wooden, and overgrown, this world was all straight, smooth edges and square streets, all marble and stone, different was good for Kairi.

She was close to the colosseum where she saw a figure in a dark cloak. At first she thought it was Riku, but as she got closer, it was clear it wasn’t, the figure was much too tall, and his shoulders were narrower. Kairi would’ve avoided him if it wasn’t for her curiosity, why was he wearing the same cloak as Riku, did he join a cult?

“Uh, hi, excuse me, but, who are you, and do… Do you know Riku?” Kairi asked against her better judgement. The man turned around.

“Uh, no, I don’t. What’s a little girl like you doing here anyway?” The figure asked. His voice was high pitched and a tad grating, very annoying.

“Looking for my friends Riku… and Sora, it’s umm, a long story.”

“I would bet, hey! You look familiar.” The man took his hood off, and to Kairi’s horror, she saw that he had a mullet, the man was blonde too, the perfect combination for someone annoying. “Uh, yeah! I think I recognize you from when the boss talked about princesses or whatever.” The man rubbed the back of his head. “He would probably get on my case if I didn’t bring you in… something about kingdom hearts, I dunno. Anyway, you should come with me.” He reached out to grab Kairi’s arm, she pulled it away.

“Oh, come on! You can’t stay here, it’d be… safer if you came with me.” The man said. Kairi didn’t trust him, he was shady, and definitely was in a cult, or a gang.

“Yeah… no, I don’t!” Kairi shouted as she started to run. The man sighed and shouted after her, but he didn’t seem to make any attempts to follow her. She ran inside the colosseum and shut herself into the first room she saw, which happened to be a bathroom.

Kairi shuffled her feet nervously, she realized there, in that bathroom, that she might’ve bitten off more than she could chew. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So Kairi was a little hard to write, older Kairi is very confident in herself, but I can’t make her confident and competent at this point. I also need to take her age into account (I can’t remember the destiny island trio’s age but it’s 12-14 right?) So she’s... hard to write. I like how it turned out though, she’s the right mix of dumb, brash, but still like, kind.  
> I imagine Riku was, in fact on the islands to check in on Kairi, but didn’t expect to be caught. In the credits of CoM, it shows him collapsing (from darkness probably) so that’s what’s going on with him.  
> Yes that was an organization 13 member at the end, I assume they know who the princesses are because it’s one way to summon kingdom hearts. As for which one, I dunno, which one is that bad of a lair, and that bad at their job.
> 
> Next time, My children, or should I say, Axel’s children.


	3. Wake Up

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Roxas dreams of memories.

Roxas was dreaming, he was dreaming of worlds he’d been too, and worlds he’d never been to, of people he met, and people he never met, and of friends. Roxas really didn’t know what friendship was, Axel could never quite explain it to him, but people calling themselves friends showed up in his dreams, and his own friends did too. His dreams, most of all, were of memories, some his, some not, he cycled through them, as if in a loop.

_ The first dream _

He was dreaming of the first time Xion ever spoke. She was so odd, never taking off her hood, never speaking, never quite seeming like she was listening, Roxas knew it was similar to how he acted at first, but he still didn’t like it. 

They had complicated the mission in silence, Xion was a good fighter, but she didn’t have a keyblade, so she was no help in actually finishing his mission. So when Roxas was finally done, he had planned to just go to the clock tower and eat ice cream by himself. But the Xion spoke.

“Roxas…” Xion turned around. “Roxas… is your name.” It was all she said, then she left Roxas to have his ice cream, but he kept thinking about it.

_ The second dream _

This one Roxas did not recognize. He was falling, falling, falling, was he falling? Or was he floating? He couldn’t tell. A warm sensation surrounded him, starting in his Chest, and pulsating out toward the rest of his body. 

Then he was suddenly back in reality, in the arms of someone he did not recognize.

_ The Third Dream _

It was the day before Axel left to go to Castle Oblivion, Axel had just called them friends. With no explanation of what that meant of course, and the small happiness Roxas thought he felt was met with the crushing news that Axel would be leaving. Not forever he reminded himself, but Axel still hadn’t come back, Roxas knew that, even when dreaming.

The memory in the real world was normal, just another, if quite nice, day with Axel. But, in the dream, the memory was coated with a strange feeling, Roxas wouldn’t recognize it, but the feeling was a mixture of longing and nostalgia, a wish for times that had passed. 

Roxas took a bite of his ice cream, the dream version of the taste was odd, watered down in a way. The dream was becoming strange too, mixing of other scenes and memories that he recognized, and didn’t, two boys one red, one blue, arguing about a fight, racing along a beach, a blonde girl in a white dress, Xion and Roxas eating ice cream together for the first time, and other scenes swirled around in a confusing mess.

The tower disappeared, and Roxas gently, gently started to fall. It felt much more like he was being carried in someone’s arms, and being slowly lowered down. Even so, he fell, fell, right into.

_ The fourth dream _

He was fighting heartless, one swing at a time. It was in a world he didn’t recognize, by the beach, a large wooden structure in the water. He looked down at the shore, littered with hundreds of seashells, and picked one up. Suddenly he was standing by his own sleeping body, watching, someone placed the seashell by his pillow.

_ The fifth dream _

He was in a desolate wasteland, broken weapons scattered about, he was walking toward two figures in the distance. They were much taller than him, and armored, the Dream was in a daze, they were talking to him, but he couldn’t hear.

“Just… put an end to me,” Roxas heard his own voice say. But, it was in a tone he’d never used, and words he’d never said. The rest of the conversation was muted, the one line echoing in Roxas’ mind. Two other figures started to approach them, the people beside him got ready to fight.

_ The sixth dream  _

He was playing on a tropical island. The water in the shore was up to his knees, which felt a little odd, like he was smaller than she should be. There were two other children there, a girl with short red hair and a purple top, and a boy with longer grey hair, and a yellow top. They looked familiar.

They were splashing around in the water, a beautiful mindless fun Roxas had never experienced. Laughing, playing, being knocked down, getting back up, there was an elation to it. He was knocked down again, by the boy, harder this time, he struggled to get up.

S- are you okay?” The girl asked. She had said a name, but Roxas couldn’t hear it, it was just static. It wasn’t his name though. Roxas mumbled something, his voice sounded different, and took the girl’s hand to get up, right after she helped him up, she pushed him back into the water, laughing. Instead of hitting the ground soon after, Roxas just kept falling, and falling.

_ He seventh dream  _

Roxas was falling through darkness, it wasn’t warm, nor cold, it just was. But he could feel it slowly suffocating him, like a weight on his chest. Down, below him, in the direction he was falling, Roxas could see a light. It was multicolored, like someone shining a light through a stained glass window. Stained glass was exactly what it looked like, as Roxas continued to fall, he could see that. His feet were almost touching the ground now, he turned to look around, and-

_ The waking world  _

He woke up. Roxas practically fell out of his bed as he jolted up from his slumber. As he did so, there was a clattering sound as several objects fell to the floor. He looked down, they were seashells, more were still on his pillow, placed near where his head would be. 

Roxas picked one up from the ground, it was very pretty, a mixture of a deep indigo and yellow, it reminded him of Xion in a strange way. Xion, Roxas almost dropped the shell, where was she, how long had he been sleeping, why were there seashells, had she been leaving them? Roxas stumbled out of bed, he knew where he had to go.

Summoning a dark corridor, Roxas went to Twilight Town, bought some ice cream, and sat down, watching the sun set, and wishing his friends were there.

“Roxas?” A voice to his left asked, Roxas turned around to see Xion. “You're awake!” She had a wide smile that reached her eyes. “ I was worried you’d never wake up.”

“How long was I asleep?” Asked Roxas. 

“Ten days, Saïx said there was no telling when you’d wake up, but… I’m glad you did.” Xion smiled. She sat down next to him, and kicked her dangling feet up and down.

“Ten days… that’s a lot… what happened?” Roxas murmured.

“We don’t know, one day, you just.” Xion shrugged. “Didn’t wake up.”

“Has the Castle oblivion group returned?” Roxas had to ask, he needed to know.

“No, they haven’t… I’m sorry Roxas.”

“It’s… it’s fine.” A strange lump was forming at the back of Roxas’ throat. His conversation with Xigbar the day he passed out lingered in his mind. Did the entire crew die? Roxas couldn't, or didn’t want to, believe it.

The days went by the usual way, like Roxas wasn’t just asleep for ten days, like there weren’t several members of the organization missing. Until one day, near the end of his mission, Roxas saw a very familiar figure walking toward him.

“Axel!” Roxas shouted. He ran up toward the older man, but was unsure of what to say. 

“Hey Roxas, it’s been awhile,” Axel said in a casual tone.

“I didn’t know if you would come back, they told us everyone at Castle Oblivion were killed!” Roxas found himself shouting.

“Well not me, I’m tough.”

“Well… I’ll go get us some ice cream!” With that, Roxas ran off. He didn’t know what else to say, but as he was getting the ice cream, he felt a weight being lifted off his shoulders. The tightness in his throat was gone, and everything was ok. 

Roxas almost ran up the tower, he was excited, to finally have ice cream with his two friends, together! But when he got to the top of the tower, Xion wasn’t there, Roxas felt his stomach drop. She’s probably just late, he reminded himself. 

Axel came up soon after, and they started talking, about the Castle, and what happened when Axel was gone, Roxas even told him about Xion! As the conversation wore on, Roxas found himself thinking about where Xion was less. 

“You know, you’re more cheerful,” Axel commented. It was off handed, but it stuck.

“Really, I was going to say the same thing about you!” Roxas replied. He wasn’t really, until Axel made his comment, and then Roxas noticed. To Roxas’ surprise, Axel didn’t have much in the way of a comment, no quip about nobodies and feelings, he just turned around.

“I guess he rubbed off on me…” Axel mumbled. 

“Who?” asked Roxas.

“Oh! Uh… just someone I met.” 

“Oh… you know, I really think Xion would be here by now, she seemed really excited,” was all Roxas had left to say.

When they returned to base, and after he checked in (he got a mouthful from Saïx) Axel thought about his last encounter with the person he knew was Roxas’ somebody.

###  About a week and a half earlier

He was about to take out the last of the traitors, Marluxia and Larxene always seemed like they were up to something to him, so Axel wasn’t surprised when they turned out to be the ones he was sent after. Despite the differences in rank, he and Marluxia were about the same in level of skill so the fight was going to be difficult.

Axel was about to win when Marluxia made a move, instead of some strange magic trick however, he instead summoned Naminé, holding the little girl in front of him.

“Is that your shield?” Axel asked. “You know it isn’t going to work right?” Axel looked down at Naminé to see the genuine fear in her eyes, he knew he should care, but he didn’t.

“Sora… did you hear that, Axel would kill Naminé to get at me,” Marluxia said coldly, not at Axel, but at someone behind him. Axel turned around to see the hero trio standing behind him, ready to fight. 

“Oh, really, are you under that Bastard’s spell already?” Axel asked. 

“Of course not, I just don’t want you to hurt my friend!” Sora spat.

“Hmm, you know Sora, I really don’t want to fight you, you know, but I have a job to do. And besides. We have a lot more in common than you might think.” He didn’t know why he had said the last part, maybe he liked the kid more than he realized, maybe he said because of Roxas, maybe because of an entirely different reason. One thing Axel did know is that he was right, he knew who he had been, and he was right. Sora though, obviously disagreed.

“What would I have in common with a murder!” Sora shouted. 

“Well you got me there.” Axel summoned his Chakrums silently, and got ready to fight.

He lost, rather predictably too, he wasn’t really trying to win. Sora was asking him questions, he was too focused on getting a quick escape. 

“Why won’t you answer me? Was the last question Sora asked. 

“Well, I’d hate to kill the suspense.” Was Axel’s reply, before portaling away. 

###  Present 

Xion was curled up at the foot of her bed, not even trying to get into it. She had her knees pressed up against her chest and was rocking back and forth. Her breathing was heavy, she didn’t know why, but every time she tried to slow it down it rose back up again, with a terrifying hitch that she didn’t understand.

She wasn’t a sham, like what he had said, she wasn’t a failure, she said this over and over again, but it didn’t seem to help, no matter what she tried, she ended up believing what he had said.

She was just a sham.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I’m not sorry for the end there.
> 
> Now Days is a Kingdom Hearts game I’m actually more familiar with. I haven’t actually played any, just watched my sister (the beta reader) play them, so I’ve seen most of the games 3 times, one was Watching my sister, The other two were you tube let’s plays. The exception to this is Days, the cutscene movie I’ve watched at least 3 times on it’s own, and I’ve watched a actual walkthrough of the game about the same amount. (Go look up the YouTube channel Play Frame if you want that, they have a whole story-focused kingdom hearts series.) Anyway the reason why this chapter exists is because I really like Days and the Sea salt Trio. Found family I guess?  
> This chapter might not flow the best, and I’m sorry for that, I needed to get used too the characters of these three before I do anything plot relevant with them, so enjoy this rewrite of Days.  
> My sister told me to do less flashbacks in the future so... expect less.
> 
> Next chapter, Royalty asks Royalty what to do about Master Aqua. Meanwhile, Naminé is having a particularly bad day.


	4. Master Aqua

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> DIZ sends out Mickey and Riku to find master Aqua. What does he have in store for our keyblade wielders, and will somebody please give Naminé a break.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A warning.  
> There is a description of a mild panic attack early one in the chapter!

Naminé watched DIZ pace around the small room they had set up in the mansion, it had been two days since the discovery of the heart inside Sora’s and Master Aqua, and DIZ, despite his earlier comment, had not done anything that Naminé was aware of. His pacing made Naminé’s heart pound, she felt like anything could happen, but she didn’t say anything, just kept on drawing. The sounds of DIZ’s footsteps and Naminé’s pencils were the only thing that made noise, so, when the door creaked open, they both were startled.

“Ah, your majesty, thank you for visiting, I would understand if you were too busy to help me,” DIZ said to the person who stood in the doorway. “Naminé! Come! We have a visitor.”

Naminé walked up to the doorway to see a short person standing in it. The person was obviously Mickey Mouse, no matter how “incognito” he seemed to be trying to be. She waved, not sure what else to do.

“Naminé, he is royalty, a king in fact, it is polite to bow,” DIZ chastised. Naminé bowed, mumbling an apology.

“Aw, it’s fine, you’re going to help my friend! So I’ve been told at least,” The king replied. Naminé nodded, she was overwhelmed with everything going on, and just thankful to maybe get an answer.

“Ah yes Naminé found something very interesting while working on the restoration of Sora’s heart.” Diz put his hands behind his back. “I would like your perspective on it my old friend.” Mickey looked confused for a moment, then jumped back to his usual, slightly creepy smile. 

“Umm, I have drawings of the people I saw… in the memories, if you want to see them that is… your majesty,” Naminé said. She shuffled her feet and looked at the ground, avoiding the unapproving gaze DIZ was undoubtedly giving her. 

“Well, of course I want to see them!” Mickey said. He practically ran up to Naminé, who was already picking up her drawings of the three people.

“This one we’ve identified as Master Aqua,” Naminé said, holding out the drawing of the blue haired woman. “This one Riku recognized, but he didn’t know anything about him.” She held out the picture of the older, brown haired man. “And this one is… it’s the most likely owner of the heart inside Sora.” She held out the last picture of the boy who looked just like Sora’s nobody. Mickey nodded.

“Yep, I know these people, I met two of them personally, although I never spoke to Terra, I still believe we are friends!” Mickey held up the drawings. “You know Aqua, but the other two are keyblade wielders as well, Terra and Ventus, gosh, I thought they were gone for good.” Mickey held up the pictures that represented each person.

“I assume rescuing Aqua would be the key to getting the others back, would it not?” DIZ asked. Mickey nodded. The two left the room eventually, Naminé assumed talking about their plan. 

Naminé was alone again, DIZ had left, and with him, her only regular human contact. She sighed, she should probably get back to restoring Sora, but she didn’t really want to. 

Why didn’t she tell anyone about Roxas, DIZ barely even recognizes that Sora has a nobody. If she just told the king that Ventus looked just like Roxas, would’ve that helped more. She knew why she didn’t tell them, a part of her cared for the Nobody, even though it was a lost cause. She knew of a second reason to, she was scared of DIZ, and was scared of what he would do with the confirmation that there was a Nobody. Roxas would affect Sora’s restoration, but when the time came to deal with him Naminé would deal with it, maybe she would tell Riku, but not DIZ.

As she sat, Naminé became very aware of every slight annoyance, sound, feeling, and movement. A slight breeze from one of the open windows was blowing through the drawings she had hung on the wall, the breeze itself moved her hair ever so slightly, giving a nice cool breeze to her neck. The sound of the birds outside gave a nice soundtrack to whatever Naminé was doing, their high pitched voices reminded Naminé of stories of princesses, and their companions. But not all the things she was acutely aware of were nice feelings of breezes or sounds of birds. For one, her dress was too tight, the rough cotton it was made of was itchy and annoying. She could feel the tight collar of her dress around her neck, and the fact that the dress barely covered her behind. She was aware of her breathing, of her anxious sweat, of every time she blinked, all of it was excruciatingly overwhelming. She tried taking deep breaths, humming a tune, even some stretches to try and distract herself from it all, but nothing worked. She just sat there, in her own nerves, with no one to talk to.

Naminé was alone most days, so why, she wondered, did today feel different. She knew why though, she had some sort of company during the short time she started her restoration of Sora, and maybe she had gotten used to it, or maybe she was just tired.

Naminé waited, but DIZ didn’t come back, obviously, whatever he was doing, he had left the mansion to do it. Naminé sighed and picked up her drawing supplies. Always an outcast she supposed.

  
  
  
  


DIZ was taking an awfully long time to show up. He knew this because that damn clocktower had already chimed twice, sense Riku was told to wait for him, that meant he had been waiting for two hours. If Riku knew DIZ would’ve taken this long, he would’ve gone back to the mansion and asked Naminé about Sora’s progress, or maybe about the strange Kairi look-alike in the organization.

The Kairi look-alike was definitely on Riku’s mind. Something didn’t sit right with it, like they had all missed an important piece. The girl had seemed sadder than Kairi, that one thing was sure, but the rest? The only other difference Riku could think of was her Keyblade, which was Sora’s. Kairi didn’t have a keyblade, or Riku was at least 50 percent sure she didn’t.

Kairi, she had remembered Sora, even though Naminé said everyone would forget about him unless they were involved in the restoration. He supposed it was something to do with the heart, just like how she found him. 

Riku didn’t know what he was going to do, he couldn’t just keep running, because one day he will get tired. But, he was going to try, until he could figure out how to fix himself. 

Hearing footsteps, Riku turned around to face DIZ. “What took you so long?” He asked.

“I needed to make sure everything was set, you need to be patient Riku. Besides I have an old friend with me.” DIZ turned around to show King Mickey behind him. Riku smiled at the sight of his friend, and gave a slight wave. “You two already know each other,” DIZ continued.

“Of course we do! Riku is my friend,” The King exclaimed. DIZ turned to Riku quizzically.

“He saved my life…” Riku mumbled. DIZ nodded, he then turned to the king and spoke to him quietly, Riku couldn’t make out what he said, but Mickey looked very worried. 

“Now, are you ready to save Master Aqua? Much of my work could be made easier with the assistance of a keyblade master,” DIZ asked. It wasn’t really a question, as Riku couldn’t imagine saying no. Riku and the king both nodded, and with that they were off.

The realm of darkness was both very similar to what Riku thought it was, and incredibly different. The realm was swarming with heartless, strong ones too, and the very air in the place felt thick and slimy. But it was also beautiful, the long broken arches and building of worlds that had fallen long ago. Trees and vines grew in odd angles, at places, it reminded Riku of the Destiny Islands, a twisted version of them. 

As they walked, the ground squelched below their feet, Riku didn’t want to know why, something told him he wouldn’t like the answer. He assumed it would make it easier to find master Aqua, but it didn’t. Either way, he hoped they would find her soon, he couldn’t imagine spending ten years here. 

  
  
  


She was tired, every bone in her body ached to the point where she felt she could collapse. But she didn’t collapse, she needed to keep going, for Ven, for Terra, for the boy she found in the darkness, because she was Master Aqua, and she had to keep going. Her determination did not take away from the fact that everything hurt, but most of all, the loneliness hurt. She hadn’t seen another person in weeks, hadn’t had a full conversation in longer than that, she desperately wanted her friends. But her friends were fighting their own battles, and they needed her. 

She would hum sometimes, sometimes even singing at the top of her lungs, singing as loud as she could to drown out the loneliness and the pain until her voice hurt. She would try and dance along too, try to remember the steps of routines she had long forgotten, she didn’t often do them right, but it felt like for a moment she was free. 

She couldn’t stop to rest, not for long anyway, the darkness was thick and heavy here, and if she rested for long she could be taken by it. Still, occasionally she would rest, watching the strange things that lurked in the shadows, until one of the shadows attacked, and she had to start moving again. 

No exit from the Realm of Darkness was in sight, but when was it ever, still, she could hear voices, far off in the distance, maybe it was a sign of her getting tired, maybe she could rest for a few minutes. She sat down in a clearing, resting up against a tree, and closed her eyes.

  
  
  


Riku tried to walk in silence, but silent brooding wasn’t really possible when Mickey was with you. The king had some sort of, infectious optimism that Riku had only ever seen in Sora before. He missed Sora, as he talked with the king about trivialities, he missed Sora and Kairi, desperately wishing they were with him, although he would never want to make them go through the realm of darkness. 

“We’ll find Aqua! She’s just like Sora!” The king exclaimed, Riku almost jumped back in alarm. “Strong, or determined like Sora that is. Gosh Riku, no need to act so surprised.” Riku smiled nervously and rubbed the back of his head, 

The part of the Realm of darkness they were in was what looked to be the remains of a forest, or maybe a jungle, the twisted vines and trees made it hard to tell. The heartless took the forms of animals, tigers, bears, panthers, snakes, and even some beastly humans were all fighting, like whatever fight they had before their world fell to darkness was still going.

Soon they reached a clearing, where the trees bent off in specific angles, seeming to avoid covering the area. He clearing was obviously man made, stumps of cut-down trees made that apparent. Mickey grabbed Riku’s arm and pointed.

“Look!” The king ordered. He was pointing to a small shape leaning up against the tree, it would be easy to miss, as it was halfway covered in leaves, but there was a human for, resting against the tree. Riku got closer, and recognized her, halfway entangled in the roots of the tree, was Master Aqua. 

“How long has she been sleeping? The tree is growing around her,” Riku asked. He pulled at the branches surrounding one of Aqua’s arms, it was firm, and fully encircling the arm, almost cutting off circulation.

“Oh no, she must’ve sat down to rest… we better get her out of there… and fast!” Mickey replied. The tiny king started to shake Aqua, in an attempt to wake her up. The keyblade Master’s eyes slowly opened, they were still the deep, sad indigo Riku remembered. 

“King… king Mickey… What are you doing here? I thought… I thought you escaped,” Aqua croaked. Her voice sounded rough, cracking at every word. 

“We came back for you! Me and Riku that is! We gotta get you outta here!” The king answered. Aqua smiled, it was soft and kind. 

“Oh, Riku… what are you wearing?” She said.

“It’s to protect against darkness!” Riku blurted out. He was very aware of his blushing. Aqua laughed.

“Thank you for coming to get me.”

“It’s not a problem.” Riku offered his hand to help her up. Aqua took it, the branches and leaves that were encasing her just a moment ago fell off with ease. She brushed off a few remaining leaves, and smiled. She was about Riku’s height, but she radiated strength in a way Riku never thought he could. Her hair was longer than in Naminé’s drawings, but Riku knew why, her hair was the same color though, and her face was still friendly.

“Well, lead the way.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Naminé is not having a good time! This is mostly because DIZ is never, was never, and never will be, good with children. She seems to be on the verge of a panic attack throughout CoM and KH2 so here she is having one!  
> Riku is angsty, this is well known, but he also loves his friends. The idea of Riku wanting “fix” himself when nothing is broken comes from a a few lines in CoM, Days, and KH2, were he talks about his darkness as if it is some sort of illness.  
> Aqua’s whole thing is she never gives up, but you probably shouldn’t lay down on the middle of the realm of darkness. By the by, the part of the realm of darkness she is in is from a lot of things... let’s just call it The Unknown for now. ;)  
> Yay! They found Aqua, surely this means she will get the help she needs *checks plans* eventually. In other news, what was happening to Aqua when she was sleeping is similar to when she sank into the water in KH3, except the tree version. Think Over The Garden Wall but with more darkness.  
> I don’t hate The Mouse for his crimes, as he was obviously trying his best.
> 
> Next time, Kairi sadly does not get to kick Demex in the balls. But she does other things, like learn to fight!


	5. Psyche

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kairi does things in the world she found herself in

Kairi was probably taking too long in the bathroom, but she didn’t know if it would be safe for her to come out. She was always so confident about finding her boys, but now that she was actually out in the worlds, she found herself in over her head. 

There was a knock in the door, then, without any other notice, it started to open. Kairi grabbed the knife from her bag and held it out in front of her, trying not to tremble. A Woman stopped through the door, she had long brown hair that was pulled back, and was wearing a simple purple toga. She was yelling something about critters in the bathroom, when she spotted Kairi she stared. They made eye contact, and an unspoken message went between them.

“Sorry Phil! It isn’t some pest, it's a girl!” The woman shouted. Her voice was smooth and confident. Kairi slowly put her knife away when the woman offered her, her hand. 

She was led into the center of the colosseum, the large seats and grand arches all surrounding her. In the center Kairi saw two men, one was unreasonably buff, and the other was a short man with goat legs, Kairi assumed that one was Phil. 

“Here she is! She was probably scared of some creep outside the colosseum, like those robed weirdos we’ve been hearing about.” The woman presented Kairi to the two men. Kairi tried a wave, but she was too nervous, it ended up being too quick. 

“Ugh Meg, we don’t save randos…” the shorter, goat-legged man (Phil) said. 

“Am… am I going to have to take that from a donkey man?” Kairi asked to herself. She ended up speaking much louder than she intended, and Phil started to yell. Kairi ended up taking it. 

The woman turned to her. “Ah, you got some spirit, I like you. The names Megara, or just Meg.” She pointed to herself with her thumb during her introduction.

“I’m… Kairi,” She stuttered. 

“The jerk is Phil, the lunk is Hercules, just call him Herc.” At Meg’s mentioning, the large man, Hercules turned around. He had a large blush on his face, and he was grinning madly. 

“Ah yes! I’m also one of the greatest heroes out there!” Herc proclaimed. He got a strange look from Phil. “Or, I’m going to be.” He corrected himself. Kairi immediately liked Hercules, he seemed oddly kind for a man of thatstature.

“Anyway… we would like to know what trouble brought you here, I have a bet with The Satyr that I need to finish,” Meg said. Kairi nodded.

“Uh… well it was kinda like you said, a tall man in a black coat came up to me and tried to take me to his “boss” or whatever. That’s not the whole story though.” Kairi looked around to see if her audience was still listening. “I uhh, come from far away… islands in fact-“

“Oh! Are you from Sicily?” Phil asked, interrupting Kairi. 

“No… anyways, I came here to look for two friends of mine, they went missing. I need to find them, and make sure they don’t get into trouble without me!” Kairi finished.

“Don’t you ‘mean make sure they don’t get into any trouble?’” Herc asked.

“What no? If there’s trouble I want in,” Kairi answers flatly. Meg gave a little clap, and the men looked unimpressed at the statement.

“Anyway Phil, you owe me now so pay up!” Meg exclaimed.

“What?! I thought that was a joke!” Phil shouted.

“Unless you want to pay me in a different way, I dunno, like teaching Kairi here.” Meg jerked her head towards Kairi.

“What? Why?” 

“‘Cause if she’s gonna be looking for her boys, she’s gonna need to know how to fight, I like her, and isn’t teaching people how to fight your job? There, there’s three reasons why.”

“My JOB is to train heroes, and she’s not hero material. Look at her, she’s skinny and small, no muscle. Plus, she’s a little girl! Not even five feet tall!” Phil shouted as he stomped off. Meg put her hand to her face, and Herc tried, half heartedly to bring Phil back. Kairi looked up to Meg.

“Really, I’m not hero material, I’ll have him believe everyone’s hero material,” Kairi stated. She was ignoring her fears pretty well. 

“Hmm, well, Phil doesn’t like people insulting him, and can take criticism badly, it’s one of his many terrible qualities. Still, i just think I’d be nice to have another girl around here,” Meg murmured.

“Is that really why you offered?” Kairi asked.

“Well I don’t need money.”

Kairi smiled and gave a half hearted laugh. Learning to fight sounded like a good idea, but she didn’t know where to find someone to teach her, since Phil was out of the question. She didn’t want to stay in this world for long, so maybe she could fins someone else, so next time, she wouldn’t be so scared.

“Hey! Sorry about him!” Hercules said to Kairi. “He’s… an acquired taste…”

“Why do they always say that about the Assholes?” Kairi murmured too quietly for Herc to hear.

“Whatcha say?” Herc asked.

“Uhhh, just that I don’t know who else could teach me to fight… I just realized how much I might need it.” 

“Oh I could… wait, no...” 

“Ugh Wonderboy seems to be asking if you would like him to show you the ropes of fighting,” Meg interrupted.

“Oh really!” Kairi clasped her hands together. Hercules rubbed the back of his head.

“I mean, I would, but I have to keep up with my training if I do, I can’t really skip that. Then there’s all the work around here.”

Kairi jumped up. “I can help around the colosseum while you train, and when you're done, you won’t have to do anymore work, and will have time to train me!” Herd looked a little scared at Kairi’s enthusiasm, but he nodded.

“Sounds like a good idea to me Wonderboy,” Meg commented. She leaned up against Herc with one arm.

“Are you sure? Some of the stuff might be difficult,” Hercules asked. 

“Yes!” Kairi jumped up. 

Kairi spent the rest of the day being shown around the colosseum. Both to get to know Herc and Meg more, but also so she would know what she would have to do. The colosseum was bigger than Kairi had originally thought, and she felt she could easily get lost. Still, she was caught in the wonder of it all, here she was, in a world so different from her home, it was exciting. The “chores” Kairi would have to do looked hard, but they were mostly cleaning and moving things. There was a concerning amount of cleanup for broken pots. At the end of the day, Kairi was directed to the small barracks connected to the building.

“This is where you’ll sleep,” Phill said. He had calmed down after a while and joined them to look around. He was fine with their other plan saying something about teaching being a good way of training. He didn’t seem to like Kairi still, but she was sure that would change with time. Kairi nodded to Phil and opened the door.

“I’m gonna get some sleep,” she said before walking into the barracks. The barrack’s were dusty, obviously they went unused since Phil stopped taking in so many heroes. Kairi checked them all, and after finding the one she deemed the best she layed down. 

After what felt like an hour of tossing and turning, Kairi managed to fall asleep. 

  
  


After her first day in the colosseum, Kairi fell into a rhythm, she would get up when Phil started to shout, do her work, train, and then go back to bed exhausted. She felt like she never worked as hard in her life as she was now. But it’ll be worth it, she told herself.

Very early on Kairi and Phil came to an agreement, Kairi could stay in the colosseum for one week, and then she would have to move on, or start paying rent. Phil was not cheap, so Kairi planned to move on. Meg didn’t like the idea of it, she didn’t say anything, but the look on her face said it all.

On her 6th day in the colosseum, she was moving giant pots around so the colosseum could use them as targets, when Meg walked up to her.

“Hey, I think I have a lead on your weirdo,” she said.

Kairi almost dropped the pot she was carrying. “What?”

“The black cloak guy.”

Kairi sighed in relief. “Did he try and kidnap another girl?”

“Nope! He succeeded in kidnapping another girl. At least I think… A girl in town, named Psyche, went missing yesterday, at the day of her wedding no less the townsfolk expect it to be a kidnapping,” Meg explained.

“Oh… I’ll have to check it out. If I have free time,” Kairi commented. 

“Oh, right… I’m sure you and Wonderboy can work something out.” Meg waved goodbye and left Kairi to her work.

  
  


Kairi did manage to get something to work, on her last day, she would have a mission to scout out the area. She didn’t have a weapon besides the kitchen knife, but for some reason she felt uncomfortable asking Phil for one. She didn’t know how to use a sword well anyway.

  
  
  


Kairi was scouting the area where the girl was kidnapped. Meg had neglected to say that she was kidnapped during her wedding. The area even was still set up like one was taking place. Streamers were still hung in the lights, tables were out, the arch was there, although it was bare, even the food still sat on the tables. 

Kair saw what looked to be a rough path through the nearby forest. Several parts of the trees looked like that had been broken in a struggle, so it seemed like a good first place to look. She crept through the forest for a while, almost tripping on some surface level roots, until she came across what looked like a large mansion in the woods.

The marble looked even more expensive than that used in the temples Kairi had seen, she swore there were even some gold accents. The doors were huge and wooden, and locked. 

Kari snuck around the side and found an open window. She briefly considered the consequences of breaking and entering, then snuck into the house anyway. Immediately she was struck by the fact that the inside of the house looked more expensive and glamorous than the outside. There was a huge banquet, silk curtains, golden accenting and an open floor plan. Whoever this was they were well off, more than Kairi thought the black coats were. 

There was a crash in the other room, when Kairi went to check she found a woman. She looked more surprised than Kairi was, but even then, Kairi could only notice how beautiful she was. The girl’s skin was a dark tan, her hair fell in almost-ringlets down her back. Her lips were naturally down turned and her eyes a bright chocolate brown. She had a look of sadness too, which made her even prettier for some reason.

“Who, who are you!?” The woman asked. She was trembling. “My husband said to be wary of intruders.”

“I’m Kairi,” Kairi said warily. “Are you Psyche?” The woman nodded in response. 

“They said you were kidnapped during your wedding? Are you married to someone different?” Kairi asked.

“Oh yes, you see, I was forced into marriage by my father, and my betrothed was just awful to me. I was told I’d marry a monster as my true love by the oracle, so on the day of my wedding I was kidnapped by this monster. He turns out to be quite lovely though, although I’ve never seen his face. I’m not allowed outside until he’s done with his business,” Psyche explained.

“What? So you just married your kidnapper, what if he’s dangerous. You haven’t even seen his face! And he doesn’t allow you outside! That’s bullshit!”

“Well you see, he said I could never see it, he’s… I don’t know.” 

Kairi sighed. “Psyche, I don’t want to ruin your relationship, but you need to be careful.” Kairi took her knife out of her bag. “If he ever tries something, use this knife to protect yourself.” Psyche hesitantly took the knife.

“Thank you for your worry. Kairi,” Psyche said.

Kairi left, she didn’t know what she’d do without her knife, but she knew Psyche needed it more. She also didn’t know what she’d tell Meg, she didn’t want to disappoint her, but she couldn’t tell on Psyche. She was scared, she didn’t know what to do. 

When Kairi finally made it back to the colosseum, she found Phil, Meg p, and Hercules all waiting there for her. Kairi swallowed a nervous lump in her throat. 

“So how’d your mission go!” Phil asked. Kairi was surprised he even asked. 

“It… it wasn’t the same guy who kidnapped her, witnesses said it was a beast or monster.” Kairi said.

“Sounds like a job for Herc!”

“Probably.”

“Anyway, we know your leavin’ today, so we thought to see you off. You know?” Phil explained. “Anyways, I hope you come to visit some time…”

“With your boys!” Meg inserted. Kairi smiled.

“Oh!” Herc said. “Before you go, we meant to give you this, it’s better than a cooking knife.” Hercules held out a long, thin rapier. It was plain, but Kairi could tell it was sharp when she took it out of it’s scabbard, good for protection, Kairi smiled. 

“Thank you.”

“Of course!” Hercules said, grinning wildly.

“Oh, two girls stopped by with one of our regulars, they said they wanted to meet you, they’re out by the temple to Hestia in the back.” Meg informed. Kairi nodded and started to head in the direction.

Kairi had never actually been in the temple of Hestia. It was small and homely, a simple fire pit tended by two maidens, and a shrine, in the far corner of the room two older girls, women, were standing. One was a girl with long black hair, tied loosely to her back, she was wearing a crop-top and practical running shoes, she was also muscular, but not like Hercules, instead she was toned, and Kairi felt like the crop-top was her showing off a bit. The other girl looked like her opposite, she had shorter brown hair (although it was still long.) Her dress was long, and she was wearing a simple red jacket over it.

“Hey! Are you Kairi!” The more femmine girl waved her over.

“Yes, who’s asking?” Kairi responded, inky half joking. 

“Me and up my friend, I’m Aerith, that’s Tifa. You and I’ve met before.” Aerith replied, Kairi nodded, remembering the brief time they met. “We heard you were looking for some training, and me and some friends could help!”

“Aerith what are you planning?” Tifa asked. She had a wicked grin on her face. 

“I was suggesting we bring her back to Hollow Bastion. Where the gang could help you-know.”

Kairi’s eyes widened. “Is Hollow Bastion another world? Oh, that was the world we met, right?”

“Yep! Didn’t know if you’d figure that out,”

“Ah well, my friends ran off to the worlds without me, I need to find them!” Kairi explained.

“Oh well, you’re probably not gonna find them here, do you want to come with us for training and searching?” Aerith asked. Kairi wanted to go with them, she thought she shouldn’t trust the two women in front of germ but she did, not too mention they were oddly familiar. She didn’t know their motives, but that didn’t stop her trust.

“Yes, I do,” Kairi answered.

“Well that’s settled, Tifa what do you think?!” Aerith asked.

“Hmm, I’m sure Cid won’t mind another passenger in his ship, but what about Cloud?” Tifa asked.

“That’s his problem.” 

Tifa smiled. “True. Come on kid, let’s go.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don’t have much to say.... other than how much I dread having to write final fantasy characters. I only have experience with the remake of 7. So this’ll be fun.  
> On the topic of “why Phil is acting like that” might I tell you that, besides Meg, the only female character he has interacted with (both in the movie and in the kingdom hearts games) is Aqua, and I’m not having him treat Kairi like he treated Aqua. So instead I made him the stereotypical sports dude who is trying, but doesn’t understand that girls are equal to guys.  
> Cloud promised Hercules he would be able to meet his “friends” and Aerith proceeded to recognize Kairi. That’s why they’re there.
> 
> Next week, three people awaken. One to a normal day, one had a long wait, and one shouldn’t even be awake.


	6. The Paranormal Forest

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Xion and her friends get sent to a strange new world to scout it out for heartless activity. They come across other odd things.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I do not have an excuse for my lateness, this chapter is just... very long.
> 
> Spoilers for the TV show Gravity Falls ahead! You have been warned!!
> 
> If I need any other warnings please tell me!

Xion woke up in her room, she always expected to come to something more when she wakes up, as if she’s disappointed that she wakes up to an empty room with nothing in it. It might be her dreams, they’re always odd, making her feel like someone else when she wakes up. The feeling leaves though, usually as she gets out of bed. Today it lasted until she was in the hall, ready to get her briefing from Saïx.

Roxas was waiting there for her when she got down the hall, he always seemed to be waiting there for her. He gave her a small smile.

“What are we doing today Roxas?” She asked him.

“Some sort of recon mission, scouting a new world I guess. Saïx said there would be three of us,” Roxas said. “I hope we’re with Axel.” Xion nodded, even though she got the sense Axel didn’t care much about her.

“Well… you two are with me!” A tall red-head man stood in the doorway; it was Axel. Roxas grinned excitedly and ran up to Axel, asking questions, Xion stayed to the back, thinking of ways to fight without her keyblade.

She didn’t really know how, Roxas taught her some magic, and she could use her fists, but no matter what, she felt useless and unwanted. There was another feeling deep in her chest, a pain, that she did not know the name for.

Roxas was excited to tell Xion the details he got about the world from Saïx, but she tuned him out, still deep in thought. She would figure it out when she got there. One thing stuck in her head though, she just barely caught it from Roxas’ ramble. “Almost, or as weird as Wonderland.” Was the description, how that could happen she didn’t know. She assumed the worst.

  
  
  


Because Xion assumed the worst, she was taken aback when they arrived at the world. By any account,  **_The Town of Gravity Falls_ ** was a completely normal forest. They walked on for a while, encountering normal forest things, until Xion noticed a large pair of feet in the place of some trees. 

“Uhhh guys… that isn’t a tree.” Xion pointed to the large, tree-like legs. Roxas ran over.

“Uhh. What the?” He asked. “Axel??” 

“I dunno, Saïx said it was like wonderland, damn that vague bastard,” Axel responded. He was looking away from Roxas and Xion, almost ignoring them.

When they came upon a path split three ways, Axel spoke up. “You know what guys, we’re not gonna solve anything going as a group, let’s split up, each of us take one route. This world seems too big to go it all on foot anyway” he said. 

“But, Saïx said we shouldn’t!” Roxas argued.

“Saïx isn’t here.” 

Roxas stomped a foot. “Fine, I’ll take this one.” Roxas started walking down the middle path.

“I’ll take the one to the left, Xion you take the right,” Axel ordered.

And with that they split up. Xion’s path led her to what looked like a clearing. Several flowers dotted the landscape, and out further away, was a lake with a few islands. Xion ran to the beach in excitement and nearly got spotted by two children. They looked very similar, but one had longer hair and was a girl, the other was wearing a hat, and looked like a boy.

“Okay Mabel, we’re back here! You remember what we saw last time!” The boy said, he was clutching an old book in his arms.

“Uhhh yeah! We almost got eaten by an island!” The girl, who was probably Mable, stated lightly punching the boy in the arm.. 

The boy waved her off. “Yeah, yeah, good times. Anyway, Ford said we should investigate the island! Since we saw it and all.” He picked up the book he was holding, it was torn and beaten, with a red cover designed with a golden hand design. He flipped through the book. 

“See Mabel! Ford even gave me the journal to write about what we find!” The boy held the book up to Mabel’s face pointing excitedly.

“Okay Dipper, just remember we need to have fun too!” Mabel said. Dipper was clearly the boy’s name, Xion didn’t know much about this world but the name seemed weird. They talked in whispers for a moment before leaving through the forest.

Xion crept out from her hiding spot. She didn’t take much of what the kids said into account, Axel often said kids were stupid, so they probably weren’t doing much.  _ But you’re a kid, a _ voice in her head told her. She decided to keep an eye open for weird monsters, just in case. When she reached the shore of the lake, she started scouting out for some shells, since it was a lake it would make sense that she would find some, eventually she found one big enough to bring back, and pocketed it. The shell was round, like half of a clam, and was tan colored with blue stripes.

She searched around the lake for a while, taking in the scenery and the relaxing sounds of the forest. She couldn’t stop thinking though. The thought was always on the back of her mind; that she was useless, and that she would always be useless. She knew she wouldn’t get her keyblade back, and then it was only a matter of time before Saïx got rid of her. Roxas would feel bad at first, but he had Axel, he didn’t need Xion too. Axel had said they were friends, but Xion didn’t know if he cared about anything, like nobodies were supposed to. She knew she would die, and that her death would have very little effect on the Nobodies around her. Whenever she thought about it, there was a pull in her chest, she felt odd, and she didn’t know why.

Soon, it became dark.

  
  


As Roxas followed the path he had a strange mix of feelings in his gut then there was the realization that Axel did not want to be there with them. Roxas didn’t know why he didn’t, but his first instinct was to be angry with Axel, his second was to be angry with himself. His anger distracted him from noticing that the forest around him seemed to be getting denser. Until he suddenly tripped over a branch and fell.

It wasn’t a bad fall, but Roxas still scraped up his knee and tore his pants.The fall stoked Roxas’ anger, and he ended up shouting insults into the trees, that was when he noticed that the forest was unrecognizable from the one they started in. 

The Forest was now filled with trees that looked like they were older than the town, much more similar to the strange legs they found. Strange rock formations jutted out from clearings and Roxas swore he saw a random mailbox in the middle of the woods. He walked for a while, trying to stay close to what remained of the path, until he heard banging coming from further down the path.

Roxas immediately hid behind a tree at the first sign of noise. The banging sounded for a few minutes, then stopped, an old man walked into view soon after. 

The man was old, older than anyone Roxas had seen before, he was wrinkled and grumpy looking, with a permanent shadow across his face. He was hunched over carrying a few wooden signs, he was not dressed for hard work, in a clean black suit and tie. He wore an odd hat too red and tall with a symbol on it Roxas couldn’t recognize. 

“Hey kid, are ya hiding from something?” The man shouted. It took Roxas a moment to realize he was talking to him. 

“Uhhhh…” Was all Roxas could say. 

“I’m just kidding, you look like a friend of poindexters, anyway can you help me with these signs?” The man asked. Roxas wasn’t opposed to helping people, so he nodded.

“Great!” The man thrust the rest of the signs into Roxas’ arms. “Ever since the kids started doing their ‘mystery twins’ thing I haven’t been able to get them to do any work!” Roxas nodded.

“Put up the signs along the road, don’t worry, the people here don’t ask questions.”

The man winked at him.

“They don’t?” Roxas asked, surprised.

“If they did, I’d’ve been arrested thirty years ago! Ha!” The man slapped his knee. Roxas couldn’t tell if he was joking “The name’s Stan by the way.”

“Oookay…”

Roxas started to hammer down the signs for the strange old man, as if he would get any information about this world by helping him. The hard work seemed to help calm Roxas down from his anger enough for him to take in his surroundings a bit more. 

The Forest was dense, but not as much as Roxas first thought, and through the trees he could see cars whizzing past on some road. If Roxas squinted, he could see the lights of a house in the distance too. He assumed it was the “Mystery Shack” the signs were advertising. The old man watched Roxas as he worked, not at all bothered by how long it was taking him.

“So,” Stan said, breaking the silence. “What brought you to Gravity Falls? I assume it wasn’t our wonderful town that made you come.” 

Roxas knew he couldn’t tell the man what was actually going on, so he lied. “Oh... uh my friends and I got lost… we separated a while back to see where we were.” Stan squinted at him.

“There isn’t another town to miles! But, I know I’m not gonna get a straight answer out of you, so i guess I’ll accept that.”

Roxas shrugged and got back to work, a little more nervously this time, if Stan noticed that he was lying, what else would Stan know? The old man was a creep, that was for sure. He worked for a few more minutes in silence before Stan spoke up again.

“Okay, I’ll bite, somethin’s bothering you, I can tell,” Stan commented. “What is it?”

“Wha-what?” Roads asked. He didn’t know if anything could bother him, he was a Nobody after all.

“You’ve cracked the wood with your hammering, means you put extra effort in, teenagers like you don’t put extra effort into things unless somethings wrong or if there’s a cute girl, I’m bettin the first. So tell me, who stole your breakfast?”

When Roxas still didn’t answer the man looked at him and said “look kid, you can either tell me or let it eat you up, I don’t care either way.” The man shrugged.

“Uhh, I dunno, I’m a little mad at my friend. I think he’s keeping secrets, or avoiding me… but, I dunno,” Roxas said, scratching the back of his head. He didn’t know why he was explaining his to Stan.

“Well I don’t know how to solve that, usually I’m the one keeping the secrets you-know?” The old man clapped Roxas on the back. “What I do know is that, it’s okay to be angry at your friend, s’natural… I think. Anyway, it’s gettin dark, do you need a place to wait for your friends? The woods get… bad at night.”

Roxas nodded. He suddenly did not want to be alone in these woods, if Stan didn’t like them, Roxas was scared.

“All right, follow me.”

  
  
  


Axel walked down the path he chose in silence. Thankful to get some time alone, without babysitting Roxas and Xion. He was filled with dread upon realizing he was coming up on a town. He pulled up his hood, and stalked off toward the edge of town. Axel always found that people never noticed members of the organization when they had their hoods up, they always had to do something to be noticed. Maybe that’s why Xion freaked him out so much at first, maybe she just embodied that. Still he didn’t like how he was always saddled with the kids, they were always fun, but, something didn’t feel right, he always felt like he was babysitting.

“What are you doing here? And why do you look like your about to commit several crimes?” 

Axel spun around to see a teenager, she had long red hair and was wearing a flannel jacket. She was looking at him in a way that made Axel very aware of the axe strapped to her back.

“Who’s asking,” Axel replied ready to walk away.

“I am,” the girl responded pointing a finger at herself. “If you’re gonna commit crimes, set fire to Bud Gleeful’s car lot while you’re at it.”

That surprised him “What? Why”

“Because he’s a creep, a capitalist, and an asshole” she counted the things off on her fingers, “and we only need one of those in this town, that one is Stan. His son is also a psychopath, there, there's two reasons.” 

“Okay whatever.” Axel walked away from the gir rolling his eyes. He thought It was odd that she noticed him, but as he walked through the town, he realized everyone did, they just didn’t seem to care. It wasn’t the weirdest thing he’d ever seen, but it was strange. 

He scouted along the entire edge of the town, almost going the direction some signs were pointing. They advertised some place called “The Mystery Shack”, which sounded like some of the crappy tourist attractions that always popped up in Twilight a town or Radiant garden during the holidays. He decided not to go. Instead he wandered back around, he felt crappy somehow, and really wanted to do something about it, so when he spotted a sign reading “Bud Gleeful’s used cars” he thought he would take advantage of that strange girl's advice.

Axel Portaled into the shop to find the owner asleep at the counter. He was tall, fat, and balding on top, he looked like the kinda man who acted all nice, but was actually really terrible, like Axel, but worse. Axel grabbed some of the food that was being sold by the cash register.  _ I should give some of this to Roxas and Xion _ he thought, surprising himself, he didn’t know why the thought came to him, they were Nobodies, unless they met before, they shouldn’t care about one another. Still, as he watched the sun set, Axel saved two small candies for the kids. 

  
  


Xion didn’t like the dark, something about it made her feel like she was suffocating, so as night fell, she found herself wishing for some light. The two kids, Dipper and Mabel, had come back soon after dark, arguing about something. There was some shouting, but it mostly seemed to be harmless. There was some mention of a giant butterfly that caught Xion's interest. After a while the two stopped arguing and made a plan.

“Okay, I’m gonna go out on the boat to get it’s attention, Mabel you watch out backs,” Dipper said. 

“But I wanna go with you! Why do you get to do the fun part?” Mabel asked. She looked a little distraught. 

“Because, Mabel! If I get in trouble out there, who’s going to get help if you’re with me! Besides, didn’t you have a sweater you wanted to knit?” 

“Okay Dip Dip, I’ll watch your back. Her shoulders slumped like a deflating balloon.

Mabel helped dipper push the boat onto the water, and told him good luck. After she sat on the ground with her knees pulled up to her chest, and head in her hands. She didn’t do much else except watch. Xion then made a quick decision.

“Umm, hi, I’m… new around here, and… what are you two doing out here at night?” Xion asked, approaching Mable. The girl’s eyes went wide for a moment, then she relaxed.

“Well, we’re investigating something! For… a friend. One of the islands here is really weird, and our… friend Ford asked us to investigate it. I’m watching our backs! Making sure Dipper over there doesn’t get killed by a gobblewonker or whatever,” Mabel responded. She was a very animated girl, and waved her hands around excitedly as she talked.

“Ah. So… why do you two look so much alike?l Xion asked, not knowing what else to say. 

“‘Cause we’re siblings, twins actually!” Mabel said simply. Xion didn’t know what a twin or a sibling was, but she assumed she’d ask Axel later. 

“Can I ask you what you’re doing here?” Mabel got very close to Xion’s face as she asked her question. 

“Ah well… my friends and I are exploring, we split up though.” Xion fiddled with her fingers.

“Oh… why’d you guys split up?” Mabel asked.

“Axel said it would be easier to find where we were if we split up, but I can’t stop thinking he just doesn't like me. Him and my other friend, Roxas. It’s stupid to think, because I know it’s wrong, but… I dunno,” Xion rambled. Once she got talking, she found she couldn’t stop. “It’s like, I could be gone, and everything would be the same. Like, I’m always alone, even when I’m with people.”

Mabel shrugged. “I think you’re lonely, which is normal.” She patted Xion on the shoulder.

“What?” Xion asked, she didn’t know what loneliness was.

“You know, lonely, when you really want to be with and connect with people, but you can’t? It’s not like being alone, Dipper will tell you,” Mabel explained. She was oddly patient, like she had done this before. 

“Oh…”

“Don’t worry, it’s normal… even I get lonely.” Mabel pulled her legs closer to her chest. “Dipper’s been… leaving me out, recently.” 

“What-“ Xion was cut off.

“Wait, wait, he’s getting to the spot! You’re gonna wanna watch this!” Mabel shouted. Xion looked to Dipper, far off on the lake, the area around him was almost foaming. 

“It’s coming Dip Dip!” Mabel shouted. 

Several things then happened at once. First, Dipper rowed back a foot, then the island nearest to him started to shake. With a violent heave, the island broke through the water and rose, revealing it to be shaped like an enormous head. The island-head-thing, then started to  _ speak. _

“Ynitsed ruoy retne ,rats dna eert ,htuom ym retne,” it chanted. The words it said were gibberish, but it still sent a chill down Xion’s spine. The island that started to move, right towards Dipper. Dipper rowed as fast as he could, but wasn’t making much ground, something was keeping him from moving.

“Mabel! Help! Please!” Dipper shouted. “Grab the rope and throw it!” 

Xion was frozen still, but somehow Mabel got up the courage to get up and throw the rope. Dipper caught it, and she started to pull. The head of the island started to inhale. Dipper was lifted off the ground with the force the head created. 

Mabel was losing her grip, Xion just stood blankly. “Hey! You! Come on!” Mabel shouted to Xion, Xion startled and shook her head, snapping out of her daze. She rushed to Mabel and grabbed on the rope, pulling with her.

“Uuh hey! I’m Mabel, who are you?” Mabel asked awkwardly as they pulled Dipper to shore.

“Oh! I’m Xion.” Xion replied. Mabel stared at her oddly for a second, then smiled. 

“Nice name! We’re gonna do a big pull on the count of three okay? One, two, three!” They both pulled hard, causing Dipper to tumble onto the beach. As the island head sunk back into the lake, Dipper scrambled up onto his feet and pulled Mabel into a hug.

“Thanks Mabel, I was really scared for a second there,” He said, 

“Awww come-on, you know I always got your back!” Mabel replied. She punched Dipper lightly on his arm. “And uhh, sorry about the giant butterfly incident. It felt like you were ignoring me, and I thought making it grow would be funny and… I’m sorry.”

Dipper sighed. “I’m still kinda mad, but of course I forgive you.” He rolled his eyes, then made eye contact with Xion.

“Uh, Mabel who’s this?” He asked. Xion suddenly felt very exposed. 

“Oh! That’s Xion, she’s a friend! She helped me get you to shore!” Mabel explained. Dipper’s eyes narrowed.

“What were you doing out so late? Not that I’m not thankful for your help.”

“Oh, I, um, got separated from my friends, we split up really. I don’t know where they are, I’m trying to look for them…” Xion started to ramble. 

“Oh…” Dipper responded, he had a strange look on his face that soon softened into sympathy. “Do you have a place to go?.

“Um…”

“Oh! She can come with us!” Mabel clapped her hands together. Xion backed away a little bit, she knew she shouldn’t really be talking to anyone.

“... maybe just for the night, you can look for your friends in the morning. Trust me, you don’t want to be here at night, alone,” Dipper offered. 

Xion caved. “Sure, I would like to get out of the weather.” Dipper and Mable signaled for her to follow, so she did. 

  
  


Roxas found himself in an odd situation. Stan seemed to be relishing in his discomfort as he showed Roxas around The “Mystery Shack”. Roxas was unsure if anything he saw in there was even real, some of it definitely wasn’t, but there was the occasional object that seemed out of place. 

Stan led Roxas around The Shack, then stopped at a door. It wasn’t to the outside, so Roxas assumed it led to another room.

“All right, you got our tour, now pay up, 50 of whatever money you got!” Stan said.

“Wa, what?!” He cried. 

“HAhahaha, I’m just pulling your leg, you don’t look like you’ve got any money.” Stan patted Roxas in the back. “Now come on in! You can sleep on the chair if you’d like.”

Stan led Roxas into a small hallway, that itself led into a small sitting room, connected to a kitchen. Roxas followed Stan aimlessly as the old man walking into the kitchen, and got something out of the box. 

“Do ya want something?” Asked Stan.

“No, no I’m just confused, why are you doing this?” Roxas asked in return.

“To be honest, there’s two reasons, the first one is that my brother would kill me if I didn’t help you, the second is… well. You remind me of me when I was your age, full of anger scrawny, you-know that sorta stuff. It doesn’t seem like you have a lot of positive experience with adults either.” Stan replied. He rubbed the back of his head almost nervously.

“No, there’s really only one adult who… tries,” Roxas didn’t even know what an adult was supposed to do, but he knew, the organization wasn’t doing it, at least, not well. 

“Ah well, screw em.” 

“What?!”

“I said, screw em, tell them to go to hell or whatever. Stand up for yourself kid!” Stan ranted. 

“I-I can’t tell them that! I’ll get in trouble!” Roxas replied, horrified. 

“Well you should!” Stan crossed his arms and walked off before Roxas could say anything else. So the boy just stood there, silently confused. He sat down on a chair that almost swallowed him whole, it was much more comfortable than even the beds in the organization, and before he knew it, he fell asleep.

Two minutes later Roxas was woken by shouting. “Stanley, why is there a child in here, it’s not one of yours!?” Roxas woke up to see a man who looked remarkably like Stan, the only difference was that this man did not have a slouch, and his hair was longer.

“Oh, that’s Roxas! Found him in the woods, thought he was one of your… friends!” Stan shouted back.

“No that’s just an actual child in a black robe. You do realize you just kidnapped a child?” The man put his hands on his hips.

“Well I do now! Sorry kid!”

“Be sorry about waking me up,” Roxas replied. He heard laughter come from the other room.

“Good point! Oh look Dipper and Mabel are back, Ya ready to meet some kids your own age?!” Stan asked. Roxas didn’t really know if he was, but he walked up toStan was all the same. 

  
  
  
  


This town is weird, Axel thought as he walked back to where he started. The sparks quickly died out, but left enough damage to make him feel better. He had set an old house on fire, where several things were living. He did not want to think about what was in the house. 

He found himself at the car lot, the one the girl pointed at him to. He leaned against the tall wooden pole that held up it’s neon sign, and sighed.

“Hey man! Nice arson you got there!” A voice said from behind him. Axel whipped around to see a figure sitting on top of the sign. “I’m Wendy, I believe we met!” Axel recognized the voice, the strange girl who directed him to this spot.

Axel nodded. “I’m Axel, what’s a girl like you doing being so strange?” He asked.

“Ah well, I’ve started keeping my eyes out for the… unusual when two of my friends started running into it left and right. Better make sure the crazy stuff is safe, you know?” She answered. None of it made sense to Axel. Wendy slid down the pole.

“My friends are two kids, Dipper and Mabel, about twelve. And if you even think about hurting them I will find you, and I will make you pay.” Wendy proclaimed. Axel was more threatened of her than he rightfully should've been.

“Your closest friends are twelve?” He asked, stupidly. Wendy glared at him.

“Ugh! Yes! kids are sometimes really smart, immature and stupid, sure, but smart and fun, besides, someone has too look after them that isn’t… Stan.” Wendy shrugged, Axel found himself agreeing with her. “I saw you didn’t take my advice.”

Axel shrugged. “You didn’t see what was in that place.” Wendy glared at him.

“I probably have….Anyway I’m taking down the sign.” With one fluid motion, Wendy took out the Axe clipped to her belt and drove it into the wooden pole of the sign. The sign toppled immediately, she had taken it out in one hit. She didn’t even look back as she walked away into the dark. 

Well, time to get back to work, Axel thought, his actual work too, scouting out the world this time. He only got a chance to see how deliberate and smooth Wendy’s cut on the pole had been, if she wanted to kill him, she would’ve. 

Axel walked around town for a bit longer, until he saw the sign advertising “The Mystery Shack” again. Well, I might just have to pay it a visit, Axel thought, heading that direction.

  
  
  


Xion had no idea what Dipper and Mabel were talking about, sure, she had a vague idea that this “Pacifica” girl was… a friend of theirs, but she had no idea why they were talking about her, what they were talking about, and why Dipper was so red,

“What about you Xion? Have you had any crushes?” Mabel asked. She had a smile on her face that scared Xion. Xion just shrugged as an answer.

“Don’t really have many friends, wouldn’t know,” She replied. Something told her friends were part of this… equation.

“We need to fix that, you already have us to add to the list!” Mabel put a hand on Xion’s shoulder, Xion tried not to flinch. Not seeing Dipper and Mabel again was very likely, but it hurt, Xion recognized the feeling, the idea made her lonely. The concept was still so new to her, yet, it made perfect sense, it fit for Xion, in ways some of the stuff the Organization talked about didn’t.

“Oh, we’re here! Welcome to the mystery shack Xion!” Mabel almost yelled. 

“More like the mystery hack, our great uncle runs a… tourist trap inside these walls,” Dipper explained, using more words Xion did not recognize or understand. She smiled along though.

Mabel opened the door and shouted “we’re hooooome!” She motioned for Dipper and Xion to come inside with her.

The inside of the house was strange, while the outside looked raggedy and put together, the inside looked even more so. They seemed to be on a stage floor, we’re hundreds of strange things were laid around in odd displays. Most of them looked fake, some didn’t, and Xion swore she saw what looked like a model of a heartless in one of the back corners, hidden from view. Some thumping came from the hallway, and two almost identical old men appeared in the door.

“Oh! Did you get your notes?! Did you see it?!” The leaner one asked, he hurriedly took the book Dipper was holding and flipped through it. “Ah, brilliant young man, thank you!” Dipper beamed at his praise. 

“Did you guys get hurt?” Asked the other man, he was scruffy and only looking.

“Nope! Thanks to our new friend Xion!” Mabel said, almost like she was presenting Xion to the two old men. “Xion, meet Stan and Ford, our great uncles!” The two men looked equally startled, Stan quickly pulled himself together, Ford not so much, he stood there like a startled owl.

“Umm, young lady, do… Do you happen to know a, a young man named Roxas?” Ford stammered. Xion looked up at him, startled. 

“Yes actually,” Xion said plainly. Footsteps then raced down the hall. 

“I came as soon as I heard my name! Oh Xion! You're safe! Thank goodness!”roxas shouted, he ran up to her. “I was really worried!” 

“So this is the friend you mentioned! He seems nice…” Mabel said. She seemed less cheerful than she was before. Dipper gave her a look Xion couldn’t understand, and Stan coughed.

“We’ll leave you two to talk for a minute,” he said, before hurrying the rest out of the room.

“That was weird, they were nice before…” Roxas said, shrugging,

“They weren’t being mean now. They were just being, well, weird I guess,” Xion replied.

They stood there awkwardly, for what seemed like forever, Xion didn’t know what to say, she still couldn’t believe that Rocas was worried about her. Besides, the impossibility of a Nobody’s worry, the thought scared and comforted her at the same time. She wasn’t lonely, but she really didn’t know how not to be lonely, she didn’t know what it meant for her. 

The door slammed open. “Oh! There you two are, have you already checked out this place?” Axel was speaking a mile a minute, Xion and Roxas could only nod. “Good, I’ll explain more later, but the cops are after me right now so, let’s go!” 

Axel grabbed the two of them and dark portaled away just as Mabel, Dipper, and their uncles came back. Xion got to see the looks on their faces as they disappeared.

  
  
  


“What just happened,” Mabel asked. She didn’t know, she just saw three people, one of which wasn’t here before, disappear into thin air.

“I think that’s Ford’s problem,” Grunkel Stan replied. His brother groaned.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I did not expect this chapter to be this long. Originally this chapter was going to be Split up into 3 parts. One was fun sea-salt-trio shenanigans, one would be Ventus’ awakening, and the other would be a surprise! The next two chapters are going to take care of those two, so we’re Left with sea salt shenanigans. I do have a rough timeline for this fic, so if you guys want it later down the line, I’ll give it to you (no spoilers though). I have a lot to say about this chapter, but I’ll start with the kingdom hearts stuff, and leave the Gravity Falls stuff for the end.
> 
> When I realized this chapter would be set in a Gravity Falls world, I knew I wanted it to have a lesson, like how each episode of the show had one. The lesson got lost a bit in the chaos, but it’s still there. The lesson is “you and your friends matter” and it’s a very simple, but needed message that fits with Days.  
> Xion is dealing with loneliness throughout the entirety of Days, so I thought I could at least give her a name to her feelings, and there isn’t a Gravity Falls character more aquatinted with this brand of loneliness that Mabel. Sense neither Mabel nor Xion are lonely because of a lack of people around them, they just feel left out.   
> Roxas was just told by Stan to tell his boss to go Fuck himself in the simplest of terms. This will have consequences, just not for Stan. Also, my characterization of Roxas depends on him having a certain amount of anger, this helps prove it.   
> Axel’s part changed a lot, originally he was going to set the Bud Gleeful’s car lot on fire, but... he isn’t that extra. He still commits arson though! Axel and Wendy were also supposed to have a different conversation, one that would help Axel realize he isn’t weird for not wanting to be around Saïx. Then I felt Wendy reach out of the screen to tell me that she would threaten him. The house Axel burned down was were the hide behind lived, that is all.
> 
> Now for the fun part! Gravity Falls references! The chapter title was originally going to be the name of the Gravity falls world, but I changed it. The weird tree-like legs belong to Steve, a large giant that lives in the gravity falls forest, and notably destroyed Stan’s car. The mailbox Roxas sees in the Forest is from the Dipper’s Guide To the Unexplained short “The Mailbox” and it was technically destroyed at the end of the episode but I don’t care. The floating head, island thing is also from Dipper’s Guide To the Unexplained, but I cannot remember the episode title. Fun fact! The island thing speaks backwards! So yes it was saying something. Wendy mentioned Gideon as “Bud Gleeful’s Crazy kid”. This isn’t the last time I’m going to use the gravity falls world.  
> Also I figured out How a world with a multiverse would work in kingdom hearts. The different dimensions are different worlds connected to each other by a different way than the lanes between. 
> 
> Next chapter, Ventus finally wakes up.


	7. Departure and Oblivion

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ventus finally wakes up.

Aqua was a keyblade master, technically that meant she was an incredibly capable fighter and mage, able to handle almost all situations she comes across, but now she just felt lost and confused. The man who called himself DIZ (that surely was not his real name) told that she was in the Realm of Darkness for 10 years, and she believed him, he told her to get some sleep, so she did, but she was restless, burdened with the simple knowledge that she failed. She wasn’t able to bring Terra back, she wouldn’t’ of survived the Realm of Darkness without Riku, and she didn’t know if she would be able to wake Ven up.

Aqua laid on one of the beds in the mansion, it was old, and moldy, but was miles better than what she had for 10 years. She desperately needed a haircut, but Ven came first. She held her Wayfinder above her face and wished that it could help, but it was just a charm. 

There was a knock on the door. “Master Aqua, may I speak with you?” A girl asked. Aqua had seen the girl when Riku and the king brought her to Twilight Town, but they were never introduced. The girl was short and skinny, with long blonde hair swept neat,y over her shoulder. She seemed scared of Aqua, holding her hands tightly together. 

“Of course,” Aqua smiled, even though she did not feel happy. “By the way, I never got your name.” 

“Oh! I’m Naminé.” Naminé smiled back. 

“That's a pretty name, why don’t you come in?” Aqua offered her a seat next to her on the bed. Naminé sat down on the edge furthest away. 

“I… I wanted to ask you about something I found in… my friends' memories. They got all jumbled up, and when I was piecing them back together I found something. Would you be willing to look it over?” Naminé asked. She fidgeted her fingers as she talked, her light blue eyes were filled with sadness, more than Aqua thought they should.

“Of course I can look at it, helping people is my job.” Aqua stood up. “Come on, let’s look at it right now.” 

Naminé rushed out of the room, and Aqua followed. The mansion was old, full of brown, collapsing wood and antiques, the room Naminé led her too was nothing like the rest of the mansion. The walls were pure white and tidy, with a simple table in the middle of the floor. 

“Is this your room?” Aqua asked Naminé. The girl nodded as she pulled several sheets of paper from a pile. Upon a closer look, Aqua saw that they were drawings, really good ones too. Naminé grabbed three from the pile, and showed her the first one.

“This is you, right, I need to make sure I have the right person first.” Naminé was holding up a drawing of Aqua. It looked like it was her from ten years ago, her blue hair still cut short, and a wide grin on her face. Aqua nodded, not sure how else to respond.

“I… when looking through Sora’s memories, I found an… anomaly, it was a huge clump of memories that was unconnected to the rest of Sora’s memories. Long story short, there is a heart resting inside Sora’s, and you appeared in its owner’s memories, along with two others.” Naminé held up the two other drawings. They were drawings of her friends Terra and Ven, it made Aqua hurt to look at them. They were smiling, like nothing ever happened.

“Yes, those are my friends, who is this person… inside your friend's heart?” Aqua asked. 

“Well, it’s him.” Naminé pointed to the picture of Ventus. “I only saw this boy in reflections when looking at the memory, so it must be his heart inside Sora’s.” Naminé shuffled her feed.

“Do you have a way to get it out?” Aqua took Naminé by the shoulders.

“Y-yes!” 

“Then leave the rest to me.” Aqua started to head out the room, ready to plan, then stopped in the doorway. “Naminé I Actually have one more question, can I keep those drawings of them you made. I just, I have no pictures of them, I-“

“Or course.” Naminé cut Aqua off by handing her the drawings. “I wouldn’t keep them from you.” She smiled, and Aqua smiled genuinely for the first time in a while. 

  
  
  


_ Naminé’s job _

Naminé was breathing heavily, she was panicking, she knew exactly how wrong everything could go, and it ate at her. She didn’t want to hurt Sora (again) and she didn’t want to hurt Ventus or Aqua ethier, but she didn’t know what she was doing. 

She carefully poked and prodded at memories, gently coaxing Ventus’ heart from Sora’s, she didn’t know if it would work, she didn’t know if it could work, but she needed to try, 

DIZ was off, to who knows were, Aqua was getting Ven’s body, and Riku was on a mission, so Naminé was utterly alone as she worked. To help keep herself sane, she hummed, and sometimes even sang. The songs she sang were a mix of real ones, and ones she made up on the spot. 

Hours into Naminé’s work, Aqua came back, Naminé was surprised, and scared, as she was not done. But Aqua looked exhausted, like something had sapped her of her energy. Naminé rushed up to her to help, but Naminé waved her aside.

“Your doing your job… don’t worry about me. Besides… he can’t wake up if he isn’t ready,” Aqua said, her voice a mumble.

“What does that mean?” Naminé asked.

“It means Ven has to fight him  _ again… _ to wake up,” Aqua said, then she fell to her knees and started to cry.

  
  
  


_ Aqua’s job _

She rushed out of the stuffy mansion as fast as possible, she had felt like she was trapped in a cage the last few days she had been there. She left a note in her room saying where she was going, took one of the coats to protect herself, and then she was gone.

Aqua knew how to navigate the worlds, but when she got to  **Castle Oblivion** she almost thought she went the wrong way. She didn’t like how her home had changed, even if she knew it was necessary. Summoning her keyblade, Aqua hurried up.

The castle itself was mostly empty, but she saw signs of people once being everywhere. Some footprints, scattered cards, a very suspicious pile of ashes, Aqua’s stomach turned at the idea of other people finding Ven, but she needed to keep hope. Because she didn’t know what she’d do without it. She had followed Terra because of hope, she’d fought Xehanort because of hope, and she’d survived the Realm of Darkness through hope, she had to make this next step. 

Aqua got to the top floor with relative ease, although she knew it would be much harder for someone who was not the master of the castle. She unlocked the door to the main room, and sawVen.

He was still asleep, and had not aged. He looked almost cherubic, head slightly rested on the arm of the throne. The only way Aqua knew he was still alive was the gentle up and down of his chest. Aqua smiled, and rested her hand on Ven’s cheek. Her hand touched something wet, and she knew it was tears, Ven had been crying in his sleep. Aqua was suddenly scared for him, what kind of nightmares could he be having? She wondered. Carefully slipping Ven onto her back, Aqua readied herself for the long trip back. 

Seeing Ven again brought back memories, most of them pleasant, but others not so much, her fight with Vanitas still weighed heavily in her heart. The way he wore Ven’s face was terrifying in a way she never wanted to feel again. As she thought of that last battle, Aqua came to a terrifying conclusion. She had never gotten that bastard out of Ventus’ heart. He was still in there, and, if she were to wake up Ven, there was a chance she’d wake up Vanitas as well. Ven would have to win that fight, and Aqua would have another thing to hope for.

Aqua was aware of her racing heart as she brought Ven back to the Mansion in Twilight Town. But she didn’t know she’d start crying as she explained the situation to Naminé. Naminé nodded and confirmed her suspicions. If Vanitas was still there, they may have to fight.

Naminé quickly went to work extracting Ventus’ heart from Sora’s, and, with nothing else left to do, Aqua repositioned Ven in a way that looked comfortable. She didn’t like leaving Ven up to fate, and Naminé but she had to try. 

  
  


_ Ven’s job _

Ven was suddenly conscious, but he did not wake up. His spirit floated through his heart aimlessly, he did not know why he didn’t wake up, or even why he was conscious all of a sudden, but he did know one thing.

He missed Aqua and Terra, he felt his longing deep in his chest, and it hurt. If he ever woke up, he would give them each the longest hug he could. 

He landed softly on the base of his heart, near the wayfinder symbol that represented Aqua. He paced for a while, until a bright light appeared, just off the heart’s platform. Ventus headed toward it, he could feel warmth radiating from it, like the sun through a window. He reached a desperate hand out to touch the light. 

Then he was suddenly, and violently thrown aside by something hitting him in the side. Dazed, Ven stumbled up and looked around, and saw something clutter to the ground. It was a keyblade, but not his keyblade. The blade was a dark red and black, with a gear-shape forming the teeth and guard. No, Ventus thought, not  _ him.  _ The keyblade disappeared, and Ventus forced himself to look up.

Ha! Pathetic, can’t believe you almost beat me,” a familiar, awful voice said. A boy, abou Venus’ age walked up, he was wearing a red and black dark suit, his hair black and spikey, with familiar and terrifying, yellow eyes. It was Vanitas. 

“I defeated you, fair and square, now, why are you here?!” Ven shouted. He scrambled to get up, summoned his keyblade, and faced Vanitas. 

“I could ask you the same thing,” the other boy said, he had an awful look on his face, halfway between a smirk and a grimace. 

“I could ask you the same thing…  _ brother. _ ” Vanitas repeated pointing his keyblade at Ven.

“It’s my heart!” 

Vanitas scoffed. “No it isn’t, whatever happened to get you to survive our split was undone when we merged, it’s our heart, dumass, remember. We’re the same!” 

“No, we’re not! I… I have friends, I like people! You're just some crazy… thing pretending to…” Ven didn’t know where he was going with his sentence, he didn’t want to say the rest. He didn’t hate Vanitas, he pitied him, something was wrong with the boy.

“Oh, smart… ending that there, anyway, I’m gonna go, one of us has to wake up, just… not you. Oh don’t worry, I won’t hurt the body,” Vanitas started to walk to the door of light. 

Before he knew it, Ven had thrown his keyblade at Vanitas, it hit the boy straight in the head, and then came back like a boomerang. 

“Not if I have something to say about it! You’ll just hurt people!” Ven charged at Vanitas. He dodged but Ven followed up with an Aro.

“I mean yeah! It’s what I do, Ventus. Oh fuck off!” Vanitas got struck by Ven’s spell. He sank into the ground, and sprang up behind Ven. 

Ven felt Vanitas’ keyblade hit the back of his head as the boy teleported behind him. He tried to parry, but hit Vanitas’ block. Each time Ven swung Vanitas managed to block it perfectly with his own blade, but it wasn’t like he was doing any better, as Ven blocked everything he threw at him as well. 

A clash of dark and light, Ven remembered Xehanort’s plan as he fought Vanitas, but nothing felt like the last time they fought, and nothing seemed to happen. But they still seemed to be on equal footing, unable to best the other. Ven didn’t want to keep the battle going as he was sure Vanitas was able to go on longer than him, so he needed a plan, a trick to win it easily. 

There is one thing I can do, Ven thought narrowly dodging out of the way of Vanitas’ Fire. It was a gamble, but Ven knew he had to take it. Readying his keyblade in front of him, with his back to the light, Ven took a deep breath. 

“What are you doing? Trying to summon a friend or something, it won’t work,” Vanitas sassed. Ven ignored him,

Then he cast Air. Air was a spell of his own making, although he couldn’t remember the time he came up with it. The spell was made to push things using a blast of air. By aiming the spell at the ground, Ven launched himself toward the door at high speed, as he was enveloped by a warm light, Ven saw the look of hatred on Vanitas’ face.

Then he woke up. Really woke up, seeing light come through a window, and the slight breeze on his face. He smiled, putting a hand over his mouth to stop himself from shouting. He looked around to find himself in a small room. It looked straight out of the movies he liked to watch as a kid, quaint and rustic. The most startling thing was a blonde girl sitting on a chair across from his bed, she was absolutely absorbed in whatever she was drawing.

“Umm hey!” Ven said, the girl almost jumped out of her chair at the sound of his voice. “Where am I?” His voice was sore, but he knew she heard him, even though she just stared. Does she not speak this language? Ven wondered. 

The girl shook her head. “Aqua! He woke up! Blue eyes, the lot!” She shouted, she seemed unaccustomed to shouting. That didn’t matter to Ven, Aqua was here. Loud footsteps came from the hall, and a woman ran into the doorway.

Ven didn’t recognize her at first, her hair was longer, she was older, and she looked exhausted, but he knew it was Aqua. Tears brimmed his eyes, and he managed a weak smile. Aqua’s deep indigo eyes were the same. She ran up to Ven and hugged him, he cried into her shoulder, and she cried into his, and, for a moment, everything was okay. One of his friends was here, the other must be close, and they were together, his family was going to be reunited. 

Aqua’s was warm, she held Ven tight and she was warm. When she pulled away she was smiling, and Ven had to smile too.

“You look terrible,” he croaked, his voice still strained.

“I could say the same about you,” Aqua laughed ruffling his hair. Ven laughed along with her, and they both were happy for the first time in years.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don’t have much to say.   
> Naminé and Aqua Are one of my favorite unexplored character relationships out there, I don’t know why, they both seem like they need a friend like the other. This will not be the last Naminé-Aqua interaction.  
> I really wanted to figure out how to include Vanitas. I think this was the best way to do it. If there’s anything confusing about the Ven-Van scenario let me know. Vanitas is and asshole, but he will return.  
> The wayfinder trio and Eraquas (cough, mark hamil, cough) Are like family in this by the by.
> 
> Next chapter, “he really shouldn’t be here”


	8. Walking

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Someone wakes up in the old Radiant Garden Castle.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A bit a a warning, a character Here as many self deprecating thoughts.

He woke up hurting, he could feel a faint, sore throb around his throat. Like he’d just been strangled, he didn’t know where he was, or why he was even alive, but that would be a problem for the future, he just needed to find his bearings.

Stumbling up from where he was lying on the ground, he propped himself up on a table that was covered in open books. He pulled his hand away sharply as he almost knocked over a glass of… some type of liquid. He took a deep breath and surveyed the room. 

He was in an old laboratory, the walls were mostly glass for easy observation, and there were several computers. The room was the laboratory from Ansem’s Castle, why he was here, of all places, he couldn’t fathom. 

He staggered his way through the hall, and up the stairs that connected the lab to the rest of the castle. He felt dizzy, and confused, but he had to leave that place, too many memories, almost none of them good.

The castle itself was lavishly furnished, Ansem the Wise spared no expense with it, or the rest of the gardens. Paintings of his apprentices hung up on the wall, although most of them were torn or covered, he did not take the time to uncover them, he didn’t want to.

He knew where he was well, but he didn’t know where to go. He decided on the library, it was the only place he felt safe after everything that had happened. However halls twisted and turned in ways he didn’t remember, odd details stuck out like sore thumbs.

Someone had lived in the castle recently and had done some redecorating. He didn’t mind, it was less painful when it looked different from the version of the castle in his childhood. But still, it scared him, the change, in ten years, the castle changed so much, he couldn’t imagine how much he had changed.

Except he could, ten years he could’ve spent growing up, he instead spent those years plotting and planning for a goal he knew he could never achieve. He never forgave the others for that, he couldn’t find it in him to forgive them. 

He found the library, the oak arches were carved out of one ancient tree, or at least, that’s what the books he read had said. The bookshelves reached 15 feet floor to ceiling, and were filled. At a glance, it seemed none of the books were harmed, the castle invader seemed to have enough respect for the research done in this place for that. All the names of the people who had once lived and worked in the castle were still scratched out, but, the more he looked, the more it seemed that the intruder was not the person who had scratched the names out. 

Several pieces of paper that were ripped were in the middle of being glued back together on the table; upon closer inspection, it seemed to be one of Even’s papers. 

He walked over to a small loft that had rested atop one of the shorter bookshelves saddened that he found it hard to fit. It was still comfortable though, he never liked the giant room in the castle he had. His parents were school teachers, before he was taken in by Ansem, he never had much in the way of space.

His name too, was scratched out from the wood, he absently traced a finger along the scratches, and felt saddened. He shouldn’t be able to feel that way. 

He climbed down from the loft in a rush. There were more things for him to look through, he didn’t want to stay in the lift any longer anyway.

Most of the books were still in prime condition, even a few of the books the Apprentices had left out before they attempted their “experiment” were still resting on their places. There was one newcomer though, an old leather book, expertly bound, a tiny note on it read “Dear Sora, you asked me to put together those old diary pages you found, Well I did! Hope you enjoy it. Love Belle”. Sora isn’t going to need this,he thought, and flipped open the book.

It was labeled as the diary of Ansem Seeker of Darkness. He realized how good this might be, and rushed to his old loft for some reading, forgetting the feelings of moments ago. He tucked himself semi comfortably into the loft. 

Flipping through the diary, it seemed to be an accounting of Xehanort’s, one of Ansem the Wise’s apprentices, study of the darkness in hearts. His stomach dropped, but he read on.

The first chapter was not written by Xehanort, it was written by Master Ansem, there was some comfort in the familiar style of writing, no matter how soured it now was. Then the rest, a tale of a man so obsessed with his own ambition and intelligence that he couldn’t see who he would hurt, who he was hurting. There wasn’t just the dairy if The seeker of darkness in the book. There were several others, the notes of a man who had named himself DIZ, and the notes of Ansem the wise. 

He couldn’t make it through DIZ’s writing, it became apparent early on who this DIZ actually was. Another name, taken by Master Ansem. The amount of hatred, towards his apprentices, towards him. It was too much. He couldn’t even find it in himself to disagree, or hate Ansem back, he understood.

But Master Ansem hating him weighed on him, he knew he deserved it, he knew he was a terrible person. He hated thinking about it, but he couldn’t stop. He barely noticed his breathing get heavy and his heart start to race. So maybe he deserved Ansem’s hatred, but he didn’t want it, he wished he was still a kid in Radiant garden, excited about getting ice cream. But he wasn’t, he was expected to know things, to do things , he had a job, even though he felt like the small child from back then, who had just lost his parents. He supposed he lost his second guardians he had too.

Something dripped onto the page of the jornal. He first wondered if the ceiling had a leak, one more thing to fix. But it wasn’t. He put his hand on his face almost absentmindedly, to rest his head, but he touched something wet. He was crying. He shouldn’t have been, he was a nobody, none of it was making sense, and he was getting tired of it. He should’ve died back at castle oblivion.

He leaned back, now that he was aware of his tears, they just didn’t seem to stop, his breathing was hard, his heart was racing, and he was strangely sweaty. He regretted even reading that book. 

He heard footsteps from down the hall. He wondered if it was a heartless, it would be fitting, he thought, to be killed by a heartless after all this, he might not even fight. But the footsteps were too heavy, they didn’t seem to be a shambling mess of four feet, it sounded like a person. He groaned and leaned back into the loft. He didn’t want to see anyone, he wanted to be alone.

Whoever it was, they entered the library, grunted, and started to walk around. A terrible thought occurred to him. He didn’t know what had happened to Master Ansem, the others never told him, so he had always assumed he had died. What if the Master was the one walking around the library.

He especially didn’t want to see Ansem the Wise, not after everything. 

He felt a new wave of emotions come with the thought, and with the mess of confusion, sadness, regret, and  _ hatred  _ he couldn’t control it, he couldn’t keep it in. He made a small, sob, it sounded more like a hiccup than anything else, but he felt like it rang through the library. 

Holding his hands close to his face, he sank back even further into the mess of pillows and blankets that was the loft, trying to hide as the footsteps came that way. The figure stopped at the ladder to the loft and started to climb. They pushed back the curtain that separated the loft from the outside world.

It was Lexaeus, which made no sense, he was destroyed by Riku. But wasn’t I killed by the replica? He realized. The large man looked almost distraught, he was back in his guard uniform from before the organization, which made him realize he wasn’t wearing the coat ethier. Lexaeus didn’t seem to notice him, he looked around the loft almost frantically, running a hand through his hair. Then, he spotted him. He was still crying, he knew that, in fact, he was probably crying more. He looked up at Lexaeus, scared, and then realized something was off, he, he wasn’t Lexaeus. Trying not to look scared, he met the man’s eyes.

The man met his gaze, and brought a hand over his mouth. He spoke, in the same voice he had always remembered. “Ienzo?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have nothing to say for myself.
> 
> Acually I do have somethings to say. The radiant garden crew (yes this includes Axel, Kairi, and Siax too.) have always intrigued me. At first they just seemed kinda evil? But obviously they were not. The line in one of Ansem’s diary’s reads “my youngest Apprentice, Ienzo, pressured me into doing this experiment.” Or something similar. Due to the fact Ienzo was not even 10 yet (in the timeline of this fic he was 7) I assume the others were using him as a scapegoat. And, due to the personalities of most of the people working at the castle, I wouldn’t assume that it would be a good place to raise a child. (Do you trust DIZ not to fuck up a 7-year-old? I don’t.) Those factors aren’t influencing how I write Ienzo and Aeleus working foreword. 
> 
> That’s it! I have no regrets and Ienzo is baby.
> 
> Next chapter, Kairi time! In hollow bastion with Arieth!


	9. Magic lessons

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Aerith teaches Kairi magic. With some results.

Kairi expected a lot of things from a world named Hollow Bastion. She expected high stone walls, evil looking guards, and dark wicked looking plants. She was expecting something out of stories, she was not prepared for what Hollow Bastion actually was.

Hollow Bastion was a broken world. Something had destroyed what once might’ve been, high stone walls and picturesque walkways. A castle sat in the distance of the destroyed town, foreboding and almost untouched. Kairi couldn’t even imagine people living in the destroyed houses and alleyways, but they did, not just Aerith and Tifa, but tons of people, she saw them walking the streets. Somehow, people made a living in the ruins of something greater.

Cloud soon landed their ship and kicked them all out. “Since you brought her here she’s your responsibility!” He shouted at Arieth. The girl responded with a wink.

“Okay see you soon!” Arieth grabbed Kairi’s arm and started pulling her along.

“Oh don’t worry, you’ll be seeing the kid plenty. It’s not like we don’t live in the same place or anything.” Tifa rolled her eyes. Cloud flipped her off as they walked away.

“He’s nice,” Kairi said sarcastically.

“Yeah he’s an asshole, but I think he just doesn't like strangers. Like a cat when you first meet them,” Aerith explained.

“Okaaaay.”

Aerith and Tifa lead Kairi to what was probably their house. It had three main sections. The first part was at the entrance, someone had take the time to turn the main foyer area into a functioning bar/restaurant. Neon lights hung over the bar counter and music crackled out of an old speaker. 

“Ah, sorry, forgot to mention the bar. I work here when I can, it’s a nice place to meet people, but probably not the first thing you want to see from a bunch of strangers,” Tifa apologized.

“Ah well, I’m not in the position to judge, you practically picked me off from the streets.” Kairi shrugged.

Aerith laughed and Tifa rolled her eyes. They lead her through a back door to an area that looked to be a small living space. The room was a combination of a living room, kitchen, and dining room, with a singular door off to the side and a staircase directly opposite the door. Kairi assumed the door led to a hallway or bedroom, and the staircase a basement. 

A large, dark skinned man was sitting on the sofa, and arms draped across the back of the sofa. He was facing away from the direction they came, but he turned his head as they came in. He was wearing thick, dark, sunglasses that covered his eyes, and he had a massive scar running down his face. Kairi was quite aware that this man’s biceps were almost as big as her. 

“Barrett, we’re home!” Aerith sang. She twirled around a little bit, her pink dress spiraling around her.

Barret tilted his head. “Cloud already runs off somewhere?” He asked,

“Yes,” Aerith said. “Did you need him?”

“No, just figured he ran off.”Barrett jerked his head toward Kairi, “who’s the kid?”

“This.” Tifa put her hands on Kairi’s shoulders and leaned over. “Is Kairi, we found her in Olympus coliseum, and decided to help her.” Tifa motioned between Kairi and Barrett, introducing them.

“I’m gonna teach her magic!” Aerith bounced up and down.

“Do it in the basement, don’t destroy anything. I would come down to watch but… I’m busy.” Barrett scowled. 

“Marlene fall asleep on you again?” Tifa asked sweetly.

“Shut up.”

Tifa smiled at Kairi. “Why don’t you go downstairs with Aerith, I need to discuss some things with Barrett over here, okay?” Kairi nodded.

The basement worried Kairi, because if she was going to get kidnapped, it seemed like the perfect place. She supposed she kinda was already kidnapped, but it seemed she could leave if she wanted to. The basement turned out to be several rooms divided by a thin block of drywall. The middle room was set up to be some sort of training room, punching bags, training dummies, weights, targets, and other equipment laid scattered on the floor. A simple plastic folding table sat in the corner, with a notebook and other clutter sat on top it.

Aerith led Kairi to the table, and showed her the notebook. “This notebook has all my notes on magic in it!” She set the book back down. “I might have to use it for reference from time to time, you are my first student after all.”

“Oh! Okay!”

Aerith sat down and motioned for Kairi to sit next to her. “Okay, we’re going to start with a simple light spell. You just light up a room! You have to think of the magic energy inside you.” Aerith summoned a small ball of light in her palms, bringing it close to Kairi’s hands, then placing it inside. “Feel it?”

“It’s… weirdly warm…” Kairi murmured.

“Good, that’s how it’s supposed to feel. If it starts to burn you, your putting too much energy in, if it dims, your putting in too little. Now, try to sustain the light for a moment,” Aerith instructed.

Kairi didn’t have any trouble with keeping up the small ball of light. It felt warm her her hands, it felt right. She closed her eyes for a moment, focusing on how it felt, she felt the warmth in her body moving toward her hands and the light, but she never got any colder.

“Now, let it dim, and summon your own using that feeling.” Aerith gently put her hand in Kairi’s shoulder. 

The light dimmed and disappeared when Kairi stopped thinking about sustaining it. She closed her eyes, and focused on creating another ball of light. She imagined the warmth in her body slowly creeping and forming into light in the palm of her hands. A bright light shone behind her eyelids, and she opened her eyes to see the small ball of light resting in her palm.

Kairi jumped up. “I did it!” As she jumped the ball of light dissipated.

Aerith clapped. ‘Yes you did! Now, try again, and keep it this time.” She instructed Kairi did what she asked. They repeated the spell a few more times, until she got tired and Aerith told her to stop. 

“All right, take a break, then we’ll move on to something bigger okay?” Aerith stood up and got some water from a cooler. “Here.” She handed it to Kairi,

“Thank you.” Kairi took the bottle of water and almost drank it down in one gulp. She smiled, and took a moment to slow her breathing. She hadn’t noticed how fast it had gotten until she started to relax. 

“So Kairi, do you have any family?” Aerith asked. Kairi stares at her for a moment, a little flabbergasted. Of course she did, she didn’t remember her biological family, but her father will always be her father. Almost everyone in the island felt like family too her though.

“Well, I washed up on the Destiny islands when I was young. I was adopted by the mayor, he’s my dad! But everyone on the islands are so close! I would say we’re all family in a way,” Kairi explained. “What about you?”

“Ah before Hollow Bastion fell I lived with my mother and we ran a flower shop. Most people went missing after the fall, including her, but that doesn’t mean she’s gone!” Aerith smiled. Kairi couldn’t help but smile back. Her optimism was contagious.

“I want to try healing spells next so we’ll have to wait a bit,” Aerith said.

“Why wait? And why healing?” Kairi asked. She wanted to be able to fight. “Can’t we do, like, and attack?” 

“Because it helps you not die,” Aerith said simply. 

Suddenly a dark figure burst through the door to the basement and ran down the stairs. “Aaaaaaerithh, I need healing! Badly!” The figure shouted. When it got closer Kairi could see it was a girl. Shorter and leaner than Tifa, but she looked similar. Her hair was cut into a bob not unlike the one Kairi had. She wore a simple black crop-top and shorts. On her belt, there were several knives. 

“Oh come here, I’m sure Barret or Tifa told you about Kairi right? Well I’m showing her healing magic right now, so come here,” Aerith ordered.

“Don’t I have a choice!” The girl wined, it sounded more like a joke than a real complaint.

“No, now get over here.”

The girl walked over and plopped herself down. Grinning, she turned to Kairi. “You’re Kairi right? I’m the great ninja Yuffie.” She posed dramatically and then fell back in some pain, clutching her side.

“Don’t strain yourself! Now Kairi, let’s start with her arm.” Aerith had Kairi look at a large cut on Yuffie’s upper bicep. “When you heal, you direct your magical energy into the wound. Injuries want to heal, so you aren’t forcing anything, just guiding it.” Aerith had Kairi put her hand close to the injury and then matched it on another one nearby. Aerith closed her eyes, and green energy swirled around an injury on Yuffie’s forearm, were the energy touched, the skin slowly mended itself. Kairi followed suit, keeping her eyes open just in case, Kairi directed her magic through her hands, like when she made the light, and let it touch the wound. A brilliant gold energy poured from Kairi’s hands, and she focused it. It was hard to keep focused, but Kairi had soon managed to decently heal the cut on Yuffie’s upper arm.

Yuffie inspected what was left of the cut. “You did pretty good, I’ve had worse healing jobs.” She smiled. 

“All right, lay down Yuffie I’m gonna deal with the huge gash on your side. Don’t move. Kairi, just assist me okay,” Aerith said. Kairi assisted her, helping out healing the edges and lesser spots, it was somehow more draining than the light, the wounds just seemed to eat up the energy Kairi threw at it. 

After a while it was taken care of. Aerith smiled and wiped some sweat off her brow. “Okay that’s the major stuff, unless Kairi needs more practice you're free to go Yuffie. Rest up! Don’t do anything stupid!” 

“No promises!” Yuffie shouted as she skipped back up the stairs. 

“She’ll come back in half an hour having pulled a stitch or whatever,” Aerith sighed. Kairi smiled, she immediately liked Yuffie, she seemed coolol and funny. 

“Alright, our last spell will be a small combat one, like you wanted, just don’t hurt yourself with it too badly,” Aerith said. 

“Oh please, I won’t hurt myself, I’m tough!” Kairi commented.

“Everyone hurts themselves trying combat magic for the first time,” Aerith grumbled. “It’s just a simple combat light spell, like Holy, but weaker. Summon the ball of light again, and I want you to toss the light at the training dummy over there.” Aerith pointed to a training dummy that looked like it had almost been chopped in half. “Got it?”

“Yes!” With excitement, Kairi formed the ball of light, and tried to have it hit the dummy. Before the light even left her hand it got scorchingly hot, Kairi dropped the spell and yelped in pain.

Aerith smirked. “See?” Kairi had no good response, so she just glared at the older girl. “Try again, slower,” Aerith suggested. 

Combat magic was much harder than Kairi expected, the day had almost ended when she could consistently hit the training dummy without hurting herself or losing the spell. She got more practice in with the healing spell with how much she had accidentally burned herself trying to master a simple light spell. 

When she was done, Kairi found herself flopping down on the floor, almost unable to get up. She hadn’t been very physically active, but somehow the stress of magic made her sore, and very, very tired.

“I’ll ask Barrett and Tifa if you can stay here for the night, we have an old couch you can sleep on… I don’t want to kick you out this late. Especially when you’re so tired. 

“Mmmkay, hey where is the couch?” Kairi pulled herself into a sitting position. Aerith pointed to a ratty old couch sitting in the corner of the room. It looked to be a little sitting area, but it had clearly been used very little. Kairi dragged herself to the couch and pulled herself onto it. Marveling at how comfortable the crappiest of couches could be when you're tired. 

Slowly, slowly, Kairi unintentionally fell asleep.

Several hours earlier  
Barret sighed. “Tifa I respect your judgement, but I do have to ask why did you bring this girl here?” He asked. 

“Well she isn’t from Olympus Colosseum, which is where we found her,” Tifa replied.

“Couldn’t leave a little girl in an unknown world could you.” Barret looked to his own  
daughter; Marlene, who was fast asleep on his side. He couldn’t imagine letting her fight for herself in another world. 

“Well, there is one other thing. When the Keyblade wielder saved the princesses of heart, she was there. I assume she’s one of the princesses.” Tifa shrugged, “I could be wrong, but we don’t have many options for who the seventh one is. Not that it matters much.”

“Ah, what’s her name anyway?”

Tifa bit her lip. “Kairi,” she answered.

“Ah, she’s that little girl who always wanted to help out at the flower shop, isn’t she? No wonder Aerith brought her here. Tell her she can teach the girl magic today, but we can’t keep her.” Barrett looked down at Marlene again. “She has a family to get back too.”

“Of course.” Tifa smiled. She walked to the door, about to exit.

“Hey Tifa! While you’re out! Find the two dumbasses! They’re doing somethin stupid I just know it!” Barret shouted as she left, accidentally waking up Marlene in the process.

Kairi woke up with a cat sitting on her face. She tried not to yelp as she frantically pushed the cat off. It apparently was asleep too, as when it felt, it startled and growled at Kairi. She apologized even though she knew it couldn’t understand her, the cat ignored her. She heard giggling come from her right.

A large man sat to her right. He was barely keeping in laughter, and he held two more cats in his arms. “I-I’m sorry.” He said in-between bouts of laughter. “That cat, she’s just so curious, she loves new people… I swear she’s a dog…” 

“It’s fine,” Kairi responded. It was fine, it wasn’t like the cat had interrupted her sleep or anything. 

“You’re Kairi right? The girl Aerith wanted to teach magic too?” The man asked.

“... yes.”

“Oh okay, sorry again. I’m Wedge!” Wedge held out his hand for Kairi it shake, she took it.

“Anyway, Barrett wanted me to tell you this when you woke up. They’ve got a ship prepared for you, after you eat he wants you to meet them at Cid’s shop, and they’ll, take you where you want to go I guess?” Wedge shrugged, “I didn’t really ask for details.”

Kairi thanked Wedge for the information, and walked upstairs. The stairs up to the main floor of the house was rickety and uneven. Kairi was a little scared she would take a step and her foot would fall through the floor. 

When she got to the main bar area, she found Tifa leaning in the counter, talking to some customers. She waved to Kairi in greeting and pushed a small muffin towards her. 

“Sorry, it’s all we really had to give you for breakfast,” Tifa explained, Kairi nodded and thanked Tifa on her way out. She needed to restart her search for her boys. She feared she might never find them if she didn’t.

The streets of hollow Bastion were narrowed and crowded, a lot more people than Kairi ever thought possible lived inside the broken streets. Asking around was easy though, and everyone seemed friendly, it seemed that living so close to one another made everyone close, even if they didn’t want to be.

Kairi soon got pointed to the direction that Cid’s shop was. It was a in rickety old building that might’ve once been a pub, it was being partially taken over by plants coming from the church like building next door. Cloud was standing outside with Aerith, Kairi saw them and waved, Aerith waved back, bouncing excitedly. 

“Hi Kairi! I’m sorry if Wedge woke you up! Ready to get going?” Aerith exclaimed.

“Yes! And don’t worry, Wedge didn’t wake me up, his cat did though…” Kairi answered. Aerith giggled, then looked expectantly over to i Cloud.

Cloud sighed. “Let’s get this over with.” He gestured for Kairi and Aerith to follow him inside. 

Inside the shop was part a hardware store, part lounge, and part actual workshop. Tools were strewn across tables and chairs, only somewhere hung on their place on the wall. Some old drink bottles were neatly stacked near the entrance, along with the other recyclables. The shop part was just an assortment of tools and basic supplies on for sale, with a note saying “ask Cid for specific materials!!!” 

“Cid! The kid’s ready!” Cloud shouted. A burly blond man came running out if the back area of the shop. 

“Ah, so she is, why don’t you just take her where she needs to go? I need to finish up what I’m working on,” the man, who was most likely Cid said. 

“Whatever,” Cloud responded. He waved his hand for Kairi and Aerith to follow again, and they did. Aerith caught Kairi’s eye for a moment and smiled.

The world seemed so big, yet so small from the view of a ship. Kairi could see the expanse if the lanes between as she sat in Cid’s ship and tried to make a decision, but when looking at the small control panel, everything seemed so small. Finally she settled on one choice.

“I have no evidence of where my friends could’ve gone, but I do know my friends. They would’ve gone to the world with the coolest sounding name, so, drop me off at the Land of Dragons,” Kairi ordered, smiling.

Sora, Riku, I’m coming for you. She thought, I will bring you home.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, confession time.  
> I know nothing about final fantasy.  
> I wish I did, but I always get frustrated with any game more action heavy than Minecraft. I have watched a single let’s play in the Final Fantasy 7 remake and came to several conclusions.   
> The first conclusion was that Barrett deserves to be in Kingdom Hearts.  
> The second was that the rest of the Avalanche gang deserved to be in Kingdom hearts.  
> The third was that Barrett is team dad (entirely by accident)  
> The fourth was that by the end of the game, Cloud will do anything that Tifa or Aerith tell him to do, with complaint.  
> The fifth was just that Cloud is Obviously bi.
> 
> I wanted to integrate the FF7 characters and their story into Kingdom hearts a little. For instance, Aerith grows flowers in the old church by Cid’s shop. They also live in an area similar to the slums in Midgar, to help with the general feel. Obviously Avalanche isn’t a terrorist/revel organization in this, but they are a group trying to rebuild Radiant Garden. Not everything carries over, Cloud is just some dude not a SOLDIER, they don’t have other areas to explore etc.
> 
> My favorite detail I put in was the death of Aerith’s mom happens much earlier story-wise, during the fall of Radiant garden, and that before the fall, she ran a flower shop that Kairi and her grandma used to visit. Tifa wanted to bring Kairi to Hollow Bastion to help keep her safe, but Aerith wanted to make sure the sweet little girl she remembered was safe.  
> The FF7 gang live in the same house for two reasons, one in story reason, one meta Reason. The in story reason is that they’re still cleaning out space to move the people in. The meta reason is that I find it funny.  
> Timeline wise, the sea salts are having their Gravity falls times, Ven wakes up, and Ienzo wakes up, on the same day as this chapter. It was an eventful day.
> 
> Next week! Kairi goes to the Realm of Dragons, the organization does normal stuff, Aqua needs to go shopping, and Ienzo is having a Time.


	10. To recap

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Little bits and pieces from all the storylines I have made.
> 
> Kairi finds herself in a new world, Aqua, Ven, and Naminé go shopping, Roxas spots something suspicious, and Ienzo gives Even a heart attack.

Kairi was dropped off in a clearing near a small town in the Realm of Dragons. She hardly had time to say goodbye to Aerith and Cloud before they flew off.

The part of The Realm of Dragons Kairi found herself in was a humid place. Bustling with people on its worn dirt paths. Regal buildings with curved sloping roofs that were painted a vivid red towered high in the distance, and similar buildings surrounded the street Kairi found herself walking. Loads of animals and people hurried past on the streets, Kairi almost got swept up in the crowd more than once.

Seeing a group of girls enter a building, Kairi followed, more curious than anything else. Peeking through the window she saw them all talking to one another, except for one girl in the back, who was fidgeting with the sleeves of her dress. All of the girls were beautifully dressed. She didn’t know the customs of this world, but they see,Ed fancier than anything Kairi knew of.

Kairi sat on a bench in a park, and planned her next move.

  
  
  


Naminé was busy drawing in her own little world, humming along to old songs, and trying desperately to ignore her situation. Sora was stable, but she had feared the worst for Roxas, as it became more apparent that Sora might need his Nobody to wake up.

Kairi could exist without Naminé though. One more reason she was just a shadow. 

Her drawing was of Hollow Bastion, she had heard stories of it, from Riku and DIZ, the sprawling streets full of people fascinated her, they had seemed to make the list of a terrible situation, at least, from what Naminé had heard. She had seen Hollow Bastion of course, but not with her own eyes, instead, she had gotten glimpses through Sora’s memories.

It wasn’t the same.

Naminé was so engrossed in her drawing that she almost jumped out of her skin when Ven approached. He looked so much like Roxas, but his smile was different, just like how they were different people, Naminé supposed.

“Uhh, Naminé… Aqua says she wants to talk to us? She asked me to come and get you at least.” Ven rubbed the back of his head. 

Naminé forced a smile, she was tired. “Let’s see what the Master has to say,” she said. She followed Ven down the hall, to where Aqua was sitting.

Aqua had recently decided that if they were going to be staying in the mansion, that stay would have to clean it up. She had managed to get everyone except DIZ involved in the clean up effort (even Riku, who seemed to be trying to avoid the keyblade master). So the Dining room were Aqua was sitting was cleaned of most dust and mold, and Naminé would even consider eating on the table. 

If she could eat. Nobodies didn’t eat.

“Ok.” Aqua sighed. “Naminé I see you’re tense, but this, this isn’t a big thing. I want to go shopping for new clothes for Ven and I, and I would feel bad for not inviting you too,” Aqua explained. “You don’t have to come if you don’t want to.”

“I… I’ve never Been shopping before…” Naminé mused, brushing her hands through her hair

“Well then, we’ll just need to make it a good time, that is, if you’re coming,” Aqua said. She reached out her hand for Naminé to take.

Naminé took her hand. “Of course I want to come! It sounds interesting at least,” Naminé laughed.

Ven jumped up, hands straight up in the air. “Yes! This is gonna be fun!” Aqua chuckled. “What? I like shopping,” Ven replied with a shrug,

Aqua gave him a peculiar look, and Naminé couldn’t help but notice how Ven shrunk away at her look. Ven shrugged it off soon after, so Naminé thought nothing of it. 

Aqua pulled Naminé along to the exit of the mansion, and she realized she just might be able to see at least a bit of the world she had always dreamed of.

As she walked the streets of Twilight town with Aqua and Ven, Naminé came to a conclusion; she might be slightly afraid of people. Whenever they came close to her, Naminé couldn’t help but flinch, they all moved so fast, distractedly rushing around, yelling, and laughing. Naminé couldn’t help but feel scared.

Ven must’ve seen her fear, he had slowed down, stopped talking so loudly, and seemed to talk less in general. Naminé looked over at his face and saw the same smile he always had, although it was different in some way.

Aqua led them to a small outdoor mall. The main courtyard served as a meeting area and station for the trams. People crowded around the benches, talking among themselves, and Naminé could help but fear being noticed. What should she do if some random person just walked up to her and started talking? She didn’t know. 

“Why don’t you two window shop a bit before going to a shop? Just to see what you like? I’ll just be in that store over there.” Aqua pointed to a women’s clothing store that looked like it sold casual clothes. “If you need anything just come find me.” She started to walk to the store.

“Wait? Are you just gonna leave us to wander?” Asked Ven.

“Yeah, is there a… oh right. Hmm.”

“I’ll go look in the stores nearby so we don’t lose sight of each other. Does that work?” Asked Ven. Aqua nodded, and they followed her to the shop she pointed too. 

Ven soon wandered off to a menswear shop, but Naminé found herself lingering near the shop Aqua was in. She liked looking at the blue wool sweater in the display, it was a simple dull blue, with long sleeves and a front you could button up. Naminé didn’t know how comfortable the sweater would be, but she loved the color. 

Aqua was walking out of the store with her new clothes, and Naminé was still looking at the sweater. She turned to look were Naminé was looking.

“Do you like that sweater?” Aqua asked. Naminé nodded. “Then why don’t you get it?”

“I have no money…” Naminé answered, a little ashamed.

“I was planning on buying your guys’ stuff… did you really think I was going to make you pay?” Aqua said.

Naminé blinked. “Well I don’t want to impose…” 

“You know what, I’m gonna get you a whole outfit based off that sweater just for that.” Aqua started to drag Naminé inside. Ven had walked out with his new clothes, and without questioning he followed them inside.

“All right, it’s a bit dull, so we should go with duller colors to match it. Probably no more blues as well… Naminé how do you feel about pants?” Asked Aqua.

“Well I’ve never… worn any,” she responded. 

“Well we’ll try some out and see how you like them.” Aqua picked up a pale light blue shirt and examined it. “Actually scratch the statement about more blue, Ven do you think these would look nice together?”

“Yeah!” Ven said. “If you can find bottoms that work.” He examined a white skirt. “Maybe this?” 

“Well it’s up to Naminé first and foremost, we’re just getting the ball rolling.” Aqua said, then she nodded. “Naminé I’d you find anything else you really want just tell me okay.” Aqua smiled. Naminé nodded.

Quickly her eyes were caught by a simple pair of tan pats. Aqua described them as “cargo pants.” Naminé liked the look of them because they looked baggy, nothing like her more form-fitting dress. Not only that, but it’s pockets were huge, she knew she could keep lots of art supplies in them. Which reminded her to ask Aqua about an art store. 

When she felt ready, Naminé found herself in the changing room. Most of the clothes Aqua and Ven picked out either didn’t fit or were too small, but a few were really nice. Including the dull light blue shirt, and a skirt with a star pattern on it. Aqua had given her two sizes of the sweater, to see which one she liked more, and she preferred the higher size. She tried everything on, even though she hated looking through the mirror.

In the end Naminé could choose between the cargo pants and the star pattern skirt. “Hey Aqua? Which one should I choose, the pants or the skirt?” She asked from the changing room.

“You can get both!” Aqua shouted back. “Get multiple shirts to! You’ll need them!” 

Naminé ended up with the purchase of the larger size of the sweater, a blue shirt, a white shirt, tan cargo pants, and a patterned skirt. She was very proud of the variety she could get out of this amount of clothing. As she exited the changing room, Aqua piled some other pieces of clothing into her bag, saying it was for her.

“Ven got a lot, don’t worry about it, okay? Plus, some of this you really need,” Aqua said. Despite what Aqua said, she did worry. She worried about the extra dress (it was a light blue) the leggings and tight shorts, and the fun socks. She didn’t think she deserved any of it, but she wanted it anyway. Naminé was grateful though, as she found actual undergarments in her bag, which she knew she would need. 

When close to the check out, her eyes landed two small pieces of jewelry. They came in a pair, and were in the shape of a sun and a moon. Gingerly she held them up and showed them to Aqua.

“Oh! Those are earrings, I thought you would know what they were. Also, Ven? Why do you have three chain… things in your bag?”

“Oh! Those are like keychains! I’m gonna hook my Wayfinder to one so I can wear it as a necklace. The other two are for you and Terra… if you want,” Ven explained.

“Ven… that’s very sweet.” Aqua smiled. “Of course I want it, it’s… a unique idea to say the least.” She turned to Naminé. “Are your ears pierced?”

Naminé shook her head.

“We can get them pierced so you can wear those earrings if you want. Just a warning, it’ll hurt.” Aqua said.

“Terra told me you cried after getting your ears pierced,” Ven commented.

“You’re obviously getting us confused. I never cried, but he definitely did,” Aqua joked, she wrapped her arms around her chest.

“Are his ears even pierced?” Asked Ven.

“Yeah, he got them pierced after seeing a movie were the main character had some nice hoop earrings, he never wore earrings though.” Aqua looked at a pair of nice blue dangling earrings, and quietly put them with her stuff.

They bought their clothes and left the store, Naminé quietly contemplated the idea of getting her ears pierced. “I’ll get my ears pierced,” she said. “But, what is the procedure?”

“Well, back in my day you had to wait a long time for the holes in your earlobe to heal around a pair of earrings, then you could take them out and wear different ones. But, now I think they use healing spells,” Aqua responded. “I’ll ask them.”

It turned out they did use healing spells, which would make it easier on Naminé. She couldn’t help but feel guilty though, this new person she could barely call a friend was offering to buy her so much. She liked hanging out with Aqua and Ven, but part of her felt guilty for even spending time with them. She felt even more guilty every time she had fun or wanted something. Even though she could see the art store, she decided not to ask Aqua about it.

For her first earrings, which apparently needed to be a sharp kind, Naminé got two simple opal ones. She liked how they sparkled. 

“Okay, I’m gonna distract you when you're getting your earrings okay?” Aqua said before going into a long story about something embarrassing Ven did when he was younger. Naminé elt two sharp pains in her ears, first on her left, second on her right, and then, there was no pain, as the spell was cast. Ven got his ears pierced as well, Aqua thanked and paid the people working, and they left.

Naminé didn’t understand why she didn’t want to go back to the mansion. It was her home, the only place she had really known in this world before today. But she didn’t want to go back. It was like a weight was being placed back onto her shoulders.

They walked under the clock tower, with Aqua and Ven chatting away about their past. Naminé knew there was tension there, she didn’t even need her powers to sense it, but they seemed mostly unbothered. Aqua bought them ice cream as well, she had a blueberry cone, Ven and a vanilla fudge sundae, and Naminé tried to refuse the ice cream, but ended up with a small bowl of chocolate anyway, which she had to admit was very good.

When they got to the mansion, DIZ was waiting for them by the front door. “Where were you three?” He asked. Naminé fought down the instinct to run.

“We were shopping for new clothes,” Aqua explained. “Not everything has to be all work around here you-know.” Aqua gestured around.

“Did you have fun playing dress up then?” DIZ asked, staring at the bag in Naminé’s arms.

“That’s a weird way to put it, but yeah!” Aqua said. She started to walk away. “We’re gonna try things on, call us if you need us okay?”

DIZ stared at them as they walked off.

  
  


Roxas did not believe what he was seeing. Three people were walking under the clock tower, which, in itself, was normal. But, something was off about them. The two girls were fine, but the boy. He looked exactly like Roxas.

He didn’t even know how that was possible. It wasn’t even like he had some look-alike, this person even had the exact same hairstyle as him. It was disconcerting to say the least.

Roxas didn’t even notice Axel and Xion walk up the clock tower, he was too focused on the trio of people that were getting further and further away.

He felt several jabbing pokes in his arms. “Hey. Hey. Hey. Roxas! Why are you phasing out!” Axel said as he poked Roxas in the arm a few more times.

Roxas pulled his arm sway. “Wow! Okay, that kinda hurt!”

“Oh sorry, so, what’cha staring at?” Axel responded. 

“He could just be staring off into space you-know,” Xion commented. She sat down on Roxas’ left side.

“He does do that a lot.” Axel waves his hand over Roxas’ face. “Hey! Did ya see anything?”

“Not much,” Roxas lied.

“Mmmmh, okay!” Axel leaned back, so he was laying on the floor of the balcony, feet dangling off the edge of the clock tower.

“I think you are lying, you did see something,” Xion commented.

“Well, yeah! It’s… it's none of your business!”

“What? Do we not look trustworthy to you?” Asked Axel.

“No?! No one in the organization does, I mean, Xion kinda… but whatever!” Roxas crossed his arms. Axel silently passed him some ice cream, which he started to eat furiously.

“It’s bothering him,” Xion commented. 

“Yeah no shit. Come on Roxas! Pinky promise?” Axel said. He held up his hand to shake.

Roxas batted his hand away. “Fine, I just… I saw something I couldn’t… explain,” he said. “It was a boy—“

“Wow! not every day you see one of those,” Axel joked.

“Oh piss off.” Roxas replied. “Anyways this boy… he looked just like me, like,  _ just _ like me. I don’t even know how that was possible, much less what it means and… don’t tell Saïx.

Axel’s eyes widened, and Xion tilted her head. “Could he be?” She asked almost absentmindedly.

“No, or Roxas probably wouldn’t still be here,” Axel said, his voice had gone cold.

“Oh…”

“Eat your ice cream.”

And they sat in silence for the rest of the night.

  
  


Ienzo did not wake up in the small cubby he remembered falling asleep in. He didn’t remember most of what happened after he woke up from death, but the stuff he did remember made his head hurt. He instead woke up in one of the smaller rooms in the castle, on the bed. The covers didn’t smell as old as he assumed they would, although there was still a fine layer of dust clinging to everything else.

A small note was on the bedside table. It simply read “eat” and the word was underlined several times. The handwriting was Lexaeus’, or, he assumed, Aeleus.

It hurt to think about. For ten years he didn’t need to do anything except do his work, studying, and now, now he needed to pick it all back up.

He got up, the note hung in his mind, and he realized he was quite hungry. 

Walking down to the closest kitchen, Ienzo heard the faint sound of voices, as he got closer he heard shouting, frantic and loud. Right there he considered turning around and going somewhere else, but he was terribly curious.

Nobody should’ve been in the castle except he and… Aeleus. Unless the others started to reappear. But Vexen died before he did, so why would he appear now. Ienzo couldn’t stop himself from creeping forward, even though he knew it was a bad idea.

As he turned the corner, Ienzo could see it was in fact, Vexen, or Even, he didn’t know, he knew much less than he thought he did. Vexen was shouting, in a way that made Ienzo flinch.

“Mmmmh, what could’ve happened!? That stupid, red-head… bastard shows up, he sets me on fire, and then I wake up here!? Obviously time has passed, but what happened, is there some property of nobodies we weren’t aware of that would cause this? Immortality is impossible though…” Vexen (or Even, Ienzo still didn’t know.) started to quiet down. “Good gracious I’m getting worked up,” he mumbled.

Ienzo really didn’t want to go out there, he didn’t want to talk to Vexen, or Even, but they were in the same place now, he would’ve ran into him at some point, even if he avoids him now.

Taking a deep breath, Ienzo walked into the kitchen. He kept his head up high, and ignored Vexen’s confused stuttering, he climbed up on the counter, and grabbed a sleeve of cream cookies from the shelf. They were old and probably stale, but they were the only thing Ienzo felt like eating.

“Wha… what?” Sputtered Vexen. “What in the world… why are you here?”

“Getting some food from the kitchen,” Ienzo said as he walked away.

“What! You get back here! There’s something going on!” 

“I’m an adult, you can’t tell me what to do.” Ienzo got to the doorway to face Vexen.

“I mean… wait, you're not an adult,” Vexen stammered.

Wordlessly Ienzo walked out of the room, and, soon after, he started to run, just to get away.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So uh.  
> A LOT has happened in 10 chapters. I got over 60 pages of this thing and I don’t feel like slowing down. But, I thought that something simpler was overdue, to wrap everything up, and So Much has happened.
> 
> Kairi wanders into the Realm of Dragons, weather or not she’s going to find her boys is debatable, but she’ll definitely find something! Kairi basically almost walks into the “we’ll bring honor to us all” song of Mulan.
> 
> I have no excuse for the shopping scenes, I just wanted them (mostly Naminé) to get new clothes. Aqua is gonna be running around in a leather jacket with her wayfinder dangling of her belt, she rotates between a verity of blue clothes. Ven’s wearing the exact same thing, except his ears are pierced. Naminé has a bunch of new clothes to try out, but who knows when she’ll have the courage to wear them.  
> Aqua was playing “dress up” a little bit with Naminé, she tried to get Naminé to pick out clothes for herself, but the poor girl didn’t think she deserved it.  
> DIZ is not pleased with their shopping trip (mainly because he hates nobodies.) but what is he gonna do? 
> 
> I love the sea salt trio, and that’s mostly why they’re here, but also I needed to establish their bit in this story. Along with the normal plot of “Days” they’re also chasing this “Roxas lookalike”. Other stuff happens of course, but that’s their main bit.  
> My sister keeps telling me to let Roxas say Fuck, but I refuse.
> 
> Ienzo is a moody teenager of course he has to be reminded to eat. Nobody is having a good time in this castle, mainly because they stopped properly communicating 5 months into becoming nobodies.  
> I personally think Even deserves to figure this mystery out on his own, don’t you?
> 
> Now! Some general headcannon stuff in this fic.  
> 1\. Axel/Lea is gay, I’m sorry, I don’t make the rules, (actually I do)  
> 2\. I decided that the best way to solve the destiny islands trio love triangle is to have them all date each other. (That’s a ways away.)  
> 3\. Besides those three (and maybe Axel) nobody is going to be in a realationship in this, I cannot write romance.  
> 4\. Ages in kingdom hearts is a little funny, but generally Naminé is 13, Ventus, Sora, and Kairi are around 14, Riku, Roxas, and Xion are around 15, Ienzo is 17, Terra and Aqua are 20, and Axel, Saïx, Demyx, Larxene, and Marlulxia are in their mid 20s. The others are old so they don’t matter.  
> 5\. This headcannon has no cannon proof, but it’s my AU so I do what I want, Zexion used illusion spells to make himself taller, he’s acually Sora height, you can’t stop me.  
> 6\. Some not-good stuff happened in Vanitas’ training.  
> 7\. And lastly, get ready, I’m making up new worlds for this. Get ready.
> 
> Next chapter is a bonus! It’s a character study Or Larxene written by my lovely sister! But after that, we’re in the Land of Dragons with Kairi!


	11. Larxene

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Written by my lovely sister, set before the evens of Chain of Memories.  
> Larxene idles about castle oblivion

She was bored, she was always bored nowadays, except on missions or on the rare occasion someone did something stupid and the boss man chewed them out. She layed on her back playing with one of her knives turning it round and round. She briefly considered throwing it at the wall just to see if anyone in the room with her would jump. She didn’t though mostly because last time she did she got a lecture from Vexen. Out of everybody Vexen was the worst, all of the original six were awful though, they seemed to have their own little cliche. That wouldn’t normally bother Larxene except she knew they were hiding something. She loved seacrets, especially other people’s. 

She sat up and groaned in frustration. She stood up quickly causing the boy Zexion to wince as she did. She smirked, reveling in his fear. 

“Can’t say it wasn’t fun but,” she sighed dramatically, “I have to go and,” she paused looking at the boy, “try not to wince at every sudden movement.” she laughed as she left. 

As she walked the hallways she tried to not let boredom sink in. So she reverted to her favorite pastime, which was trying to figure out what the others were doing. She knew Axel and Siax were up to something but she didn’t know what, and she planned to find out. She stuck her knife in the wall letting it cut into it as she walked. She could do all sorts of things to get it out of them. She could scare them, or maybe play double agent, or simply just join in on the fun, she didn’t really know if she wanted to tell the boss yet. Xemnas, she thought bitterly, he was up to something that he hadn’t told anyone, and she knew it. He said they were making kingdom hearts to get their hearts back, but she knew that him and the other five apprentices made themselves into nobodies; it wasn’t exactly a secret. So if they had willingly cast off their hearts why would they want them back? It was a puzzle that Larxene knew she would be hard pressed to solve. This was because Xemnas was completely unreadable, most nobodies were difficult to read but he was impossible. She figured if anyone else knew it was #2; Xigbar, but he was worse, it wasn’t that he didn’t show emotion, but that he showed too much, you couldn’t tell what was important or not. 

She forced her knife deeper into the wall; it created a screeching noise as it cut past the polymer shell and into the metal underneath. She smiled. The screeching continued as she walked, she enjoyed the sound, as it was reflective of her own mental state. 

“Larxene,” a soft voice called out to her, “is creating that infernal noise necessary.”

Larxene just smiled, “I don’t know marly what do you think.”

The pink haired man smiled back “my name is marluxia, and you know what I think.”

Larxene gagged “but Marluxia is a pain to say Marly is so much easier.” She’d never admit it but part of the reason she almost insisted on a dumb nickname was because Marluxia never fit, she always thought of a different name when she said it, one he didn’t remenber and only she reamembered faintly. 

“You didn’t answer my question about that infernal noise.”

“Hmmm, I don’t think I did.”

“Are you going to.”

“I think it's fun,” she said, leaning towards him and smiling.

“What makes it fun,” the man said the last word almost bitterly. 

“Well if I knew you were gonna be such a big baby about it I wouldn’t have done it,” she fake pouted her voice sacarrine and sickly sweet. She yanked her knife out of the wall and started playing with it again. 

“Ah that's why you did it,” the man smiled gently.

Larxene was taken aback, reminded of memories she’d rather not realive and a life that was long gone. The man in front of her was not the boy she remembered just like she wasn’t the same either. So she just scoffed.

“Do you have any news, news man?” she asked, changing the subject.

“No but I do have a proposition,” the man smiled his gentle smile again, strage that such a smile could hide the emptiness within. 

Excitement rose in the part of Larxene’s chest that used to contain a heart and now just had memories of it. “What is it?”

“If I knew you I know you are chafing under all the secrets of this organization, so I propose we work together to figure it out and change that.”

“Do you mean a coup,” Larxene responded excitedly.

“In a sense, yes.”

Larxene giggled, “a way to finally show up those annoying higher ups, please you think I wouldn’t want to join.”

“I take it you're interested.”

“Duh,” she smiled “this is the most interesting thing that has happened in a while, of course I’m in.”

She was excited to have more manpower in her research, she was excited for the opportunity to gain power, she was also excited to spend time with an old friend. 

“I knew I could count on you Larxene,” the man said. She almost corrected him. It was on the tip on her tongue, a slip up so simple, a slip up that would’ve meant everything. It was something that others wouldn’t look twice at but she knew he would. So instead with a name still bitter on her tongue she asked.

“So what do we do first?”

The man smiled cryptically, “have you heard the keyblade wielder is coming to castle oblivion.”

“Don’t we have one of those,” her brain whispered to her ‘multiple actually’ but she dismissed it.

“Yes but this is his somebody.”

She giggled again, but then heard footsteps down the hall. 

“Quite” she ordered her companion compiling instantly.

It was just the replica girl, dressed in white with two pigtails.

“It’s just the puppet,” the man said civilly, turning to Larxene once more.

And Larxene wondered not for the last time nor the first how he didn’t recognize his sister. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You might have noticed but this was not written by your normal author. The person who wrote this is me, her sister. I beta read all her chapters and thought I could write a character/relationship study that she could post with this. I might write more in the future, possibly in any long breaks between chapters.  
> There are many things I find interesting with Larxebe’s character. For one she is malicious and seems to enjoy other people’s discomfort, however we see that she does care, at least about marluxia. She also is clearly bitter through the entire story so I tried to show that. I tried to make their relationship playful, but it might’ve come off as flirty. To be honest the flirty vibe isn’t entirely bad and feels like a natural byproduct of the way Larxene acts. Until next time.
> 
> Author’s note.  
> If your looking for the actual update, go back one chapter! This is just a bonus!


	12. Worth fighting for

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kairi wanders the Realm of Dragons, desperately searching for her friends who don’t seem to be there.

Kairi’s plan was simple: ask around, get evidence of any activity, suspicious or otherwise, investigate it, repeat, until she found them, or untill she ran out of sources. She didn’t know how she would get out of this world, and the thought of being trapped here scared her, but she pushed it out of her mind. She would get there when she needed to. 

Kair started to ask around, but besides from a few strange looks, she didn’t get anything, except for some murmurings about foreigners. One woman said that Kairi might have better luck near the coast, where foreigners were more common. 

“Unless you want to go west,” the woman laughed. Kairi shrugged and wandered off, not wanting to get caught in a conversation she didn’t understand.

The woman pointed Kairi the way to the coast, saying it will be a while, about a week. Kairi waved and ran in that direction, almost running into several people on her way. The town soon changed into countryside, the roads becoming more rough, as night fell, Kairi found herself by the side of a small farm.

Creeping around, Kairi moved through the farm, looking for shelter for the night. A small temple building stood at the edge of the farm, Karie climbed inside.

It was oddly, almost creepily quiet, but still, Kairi managed to fall asleep. Her dreams were full of shouting, strange voices and spirits. 

When she awoke she didn’t feel any more rested than before, but she wasn’t bothered, creeping out of the temple, Kairi tried to sneak back to the road without being spotted by farmers. She only managed to stay hidden by using the passing mail cart.

She couldn’t help but overhear that the message it brought was of war. 

When the cart left, Kairi tried her hardest to make it seem like she was just walking along the road, casually, like she belonged there. The hot air became unbearable with her nerves, she hoped the family at the farm didn’t notice her.

“Hey girl! Why are you walking this road!” The eldest shouted. She was a stout, old looking woman wearing traditional blue dress, her hair tied neatly into a bun.

“I uuuuh… I’m walking…” Kairi stammered. “I was told this road was in the direction of the coast.” She decided not to lie about her purpose. “I’m trying to find my friends. Ones tall, kinda pale, with blue eyes and white hair, the other is a little taller than me, brown hair, medium skin, and blue eyes, have you seen them?”

“Well they were right to send you to the coast, doesn’t sound like they’re from around here! But to send you walking Ha! That’ll take a week at least!” The old woman thought for a moment. “Why don’t you come inside dear, you must’ve been walking all night!”

Karin shuffled her feat. “Well… I wouldn’t want to—“

“Nonsense! You wouldn’t be a problem! Now! Come!” The old woman grabbed Kairi’s wrist and pulled her along. Her grip was surprisingly strong. The younger woman next to her was round and kind looking, but she held a saddened expression on her face.

“We’ll feed you and then you can work in the farm while I contact the right people, now sit,” the old woman ordered.

Kairi could do much except sit down and eat what was placed in front of her. She assumed she could run away at night, humor the family for the day, even so, she did not want to help out in their farm. The two women started talking to eachither in hushed tones, which Kairi could unfortunately still hear.

“What are you doing feeding her all that, a girl needs to stay thin!” The younger woman exclaimed, barely whispering.

“Oh please, there’s such a thing as too skinny, and you're looking at it!” The older woman said. It was remarkable that she thought Kairi couldn’t hear her.

Kairi soon finished most of the food, and quickly looked around for a way to leave. A third woman, younger than the other two was standing in the doorway, when she saw Kairi’s distress, she walked over, took her bowl, and quietly lead her to the kitchen so she could do her dishes.

“I’m sorry about them, they didn’t know that that’s none of their business,” she said.

“It’s fine,” Kairi said. 

They continued to wash the dishes in silence, when they were done, the woman led Kairi out the back door to the fields, were she stopped for a moment.

“I’m Mulan, by the way, I never caught your name,” Mulan said, more just to fill the silence then to get an answer,

“I’m Kairi,” Kairi answered.

Mulan smiled, and directed her to the small chicken coop out back. “You’re lucky it’s morning and feeding the chickens is always the easiest chore, I’ll give it to you today—“ Mulan sighed— “father will soon be gone to the draft… then there will just be more work.” She said. After Showing Kairi were the grain for the chicken was, Mulan walked off to do her own chores, and kairi was left alone.

She could make a break for it, run as fast as she can so she doesn’t lose time, but Kairi felt guilty at the thought of that. So instead she halfheartedly threw grain for the chickens to eat. The long expanse of rice farms on every side of her (except for the house) made Kairi feel nervous for the road ahead.

She ended up playing with the chickens a little, chasing them around and trying to pick them up, Mulan walked by and giggled.

“Having fun?” She asked.

“Oh yeah!” Kairi shouted back. Mulan smiled.

“Why don’t you go that way,” she pointed. “And check the plants for signs of bugs or disease, I’ll be on the other side, okay?” Mulan looked to Kairi nervously. She sighed.

“Okay.” Kairi stalked off to her side of the fields. The crops were well maintained, only a few of the plants in the first row had been eaten by animals or bugs, but Kairi looked out over the field of grain and felt the weight of her task. Kairi got through half the fields, she apologized profusely to Mulan, but she said it was fine, at the end of the day Kairi found herself sleeping in the main room.

The next day Mulan was gone, she had run away to join the army in her father’s stead. The two women, Mulan’s mother and her grandmother cried tears of worry and pain, and the man, Mulan’s father looked somber, as if he had come to a dire conclusion. That night, Kairi left as well.

The night was colder than Kairi thought it would be, but she knew she had to keep going, she had wasted a lot of time, and she needed to find Mulan as well, before anything bad happened. She wasn’t the quietest, but she wasn’t attacked by anything, which she took as a good sign,

She slept under a fallen log, hoping she wouldn’t be eaten in the middle of the night, and the next day she tried her best to ignore how she smelled.

Then she saw smoke coming from the nearby trees, and despite her instincts, Kairi ran towards it.

There was shouting, lots of shouting, and smoke, but when it all cleared away Kairi saw Mulan, sitting on the ground in a daze, staring at a lizard of some sort, he seemed to be monologuing. Kairi watched from the shadows, a little scared of being noticed. 

“No, I can’t go back home,” Mulan told the lizard. “I need to do this, for my father.” She stood up, sword and hand, with a tight resolve.

“Well then, if you insist on going, I’ll come with, to keep you safe! Aaaaah I mean, to help you blend in, you need someone to show you how to act!” The lizard said. If it was a month ago Kairi wouldn’t have believed what she was seeing, but now she could.

The lizard hopped onto Mulan’s shoulder. “Now, we ain’t got a moment to lose! Mush!” 

Mulan walked off, but it seemed like she had a direction, so Kairi followed. She followed her to a large military camp, and Kairi finally understood what Mulan was doing. She was taking her father’s place in the draft, to protect him. 

The road that went around the camp led to a city, Mulan was safe, and Kairi had no reason to tell on her and put Mulan’s kind father in danger, so she walked off to the town.

  
  
  


Everything went surprisingly well in the town, Kairi didn’t know exactly how long she stayed there, but it couldn’t have been longer than 2 months. There were rumors of a strange cloaked figure around, so Kairi looked for it while doing odd jobs. The people she was staying with were nice, if a little odd; an older woman and her husband, clearly missing their children, and needing some help around the house.

The one thing Kairi loved the most about staying there were the kids, they were always happy, untouched by the war. They ran around, played, one girl always had her doll with her.

She liked to play tag with the children, running around without a care in the world, even though she knew she was wasting time by playing with kids instead of searching for her friends. 

Everytime she came home from work or from playing with the village children, the old couple she was staying with would be there, looking for stories and updates. She would help around the house, and then they would eat a plentiful dinner, before falling asleep. Everything was well.

Then there was an attack by the Huns, the people China was at war with. The house Kairi was in was just at the edge of town, and she got pushed through the door and told to run at the first sign of trouble, the kind couple told her not to worry about them but she lingered. So she got to watch the small village, full of kindness, burst into flames. She felt the heat in her face, and heard cheering from the enemy attackers. Tears formed in her eyes, and she collapsed to her knees, clutching her sword, but unable to do anything.

For a brief moment, she realized how stupid she had been, running off from home by the seat of her pants, just hoping she would find her friends, she was stuck now, in a world plagued by war that was not her own, unable to complete her own goal. She needed to be stronger to do what mattered.

One of the soldiers must’ve saw her, they ran towards her at full speed, she tried to block them, even though she was tired and crying, but her lessons never covered how to fight someone so much bigger and stronger than she was. He stabbed at her with his sword, Kairi dodged, but it wasn’t enough, the sword stabbed through her side, thankfully missing her vitals. She felt an overwhelming pain as she was dropped to the ground, she couldn’t do anything, and the soldier had clearly intended to let her bleed out.

She didn’t keep track of how long she lied there, too dazed to do anything, she knew she should cast cure on her wound, but she couldn’t bring herself to move her hands to cast.

A hooded figure, dressed in a dark hood then entered her vision. They wore the same cloak as Riku did when she saw him last. Was it Riku? She tried to call out but her voice didn’t work. The figure approached her, studied her with a curious look.

The figure raised their hand over Kairi. “Let’s hope you find a better place to die,” They said. They’re voice was not Riku’s, and Kairi saw a glimpse of a scar behind the hood as she started to fall into a portal below her.

She hit the grassy ground with a thud, and something must’ve snapped back in place, as Kairi could bring herself to move again. She held her side and willed herself to cast cure, to heal her stab wound, it worked less than expected, but she wouldn’t bleed out anytime soon.

Taking a breath, Kairi looked around. She was in some kind of forest off the side of the road, she could smell flowers. Sun shone through the leaves of the trees. It was a better place to die than the burning countryside of China, but she didn’t intend to die just yet.

Kairi pulled together what determination she might have left, and started to walk, following the road. She didn’t know how long she had walked before her wound started to open, but it did, and she found herself too panicked to heal herself. She felt tears form in her eyes, until she saw a cart come in the distance.

Kairi waved her hands, she shouted, she ignored all pretenses of “stranger danger” in hopes that these people could help her, the cart stopped, and the man who was driving it jumped out.

“Well little lady, why all the noise?” The man asked. He was tall and attractive, tanned skin, swooping brown hair, and a little bit of stubble, the man looked like a dashing rogue straight out of one of Kairi’s favorite adventure books. 

“Well…” Kairi clutched her side. “You see, I’ve been stabbed, and I… I need some help,” she said. The man crossed his arms and looked her over.

“And why should we help you?” The man asked.

“Come on man! She’s a kid!” A second voice piped up. A head popped out of the back of the cart. The second man was wider than the first, with a full beard, string jaw, dark skin, and shaved head, but he still looked like he had walked out of a fairytale, Kairi found herself in a little awe.

“Do you want to waste the… ugh fine! You’re right, come’re kid, this isn’t gonna be pleasant. The man carefully lifted Kairi’s shirt so he could get a better view of the stab, she found she didn’t care that he had her shirt up. 

“Ugh, I’m sorry about this… Lance! I know you don’t like blood but can you try to help!” The man said. The second man handed him a roll of bandages from the cart, and he wrapped Kairi’s wound.

“Now, will you promise us that you’ve never seen anyone here,” he asked. Kairi looked at him oddly.

“I mean, sure! But, why?”

“Because the world need never know that legendary thieves Flynn Rider and Lance Strongbow were even here, if only you keep your mouth shut!” The man pointed to himself when saying Flynn Rider, and his partner when eating Lance, so Kairi assumed those were their names.

Kairi raised an eyebrow. “You-know... you probably shouldn’t of told me you were criminals,” she retorted.

“Yeah… I shouldn't have,” Flynn Rider said.

“Sometimes you let your ego get the best of you my man.” Lance shrugged.

“Oh, I won’t tell anyone I saw you, if you give me a ride to the next town, besides, you shouldn’t leave a stab victim out in the forest, should you?” answered Kairi.

They nodded, and allowed Kairi to climb into the cart, they took off towards town, or another destination she didn’t know.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sadly my Mulan chapter became an interval between two parts of Kairi’s story, but I do promise after this one she’ll stop running around blind, at least a little bit.
> 
> Kairi would look very out of place in China, considering she’s a redhead, that’s not important to the story just a fun thing. 
> 
> We won’t actually finish Mulan’s story in this, as I assume most of you know her story, and I got big plans for KH2 worlds.
> 
> Kairi gets herself semi-kidnapped a lot, she wanders around looking untill someone finds her and realizes she’s a kid all on her own. I think it’s an important contrast, most of Sora’s story in the original games had him choosing to help people, he was the keyblade wielder after all, but Kairi is a scared little girl desperate to find her only friends, armed with a sword she can barely use. She isn’t going to be the protagonist running in to save people, she’s a scared kid, so was Sora, and I want to make that a point. 
> 
> Who was the strange cloaked man who Inadvertently saved Kairi there? 
> 
> Now, you may be asking, “who is Lance Strongbow?“ Or, “Why is the Tangled world here?” And I say, not to worry my friends! Kairi is running into Flynn Rider in one of his many schemes, before Tangled. Lance, is a bit harder to explain. In the Tangled TV series that ran for a good bit, they introduced Flynn Rider’s old partner-in-crime, and childhood bestie, Lance Strongbow. They had split sometime before the movie, and met up later in the show. Since I personally think the character writing of the Tangled series is really good for a kids show, I decided to have Lance make an appearance!
> 
> Next time!  
> Aqua and Ven learn about the organization, nobodies, and the situation they have found themselves in.


	13. Nobodies and Somebodies

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Aqua and Ven finally learn about organization 13.

Ven liked getting out of the mansion, something about the air in the place never sat right with him. He liked Naminé, but Riku always seemed distant, and DIZ.

He found himself hating DIZ.

Aqua would laugh, say that she thought it was impossible for him to dislike anyone, and he thought it was. It surprised him too, he never fully understood why, maybe DIZ reminded him too much of Master Eraqus in his last moments, maybe it was something else, maybe it was something he didn’t even remember. 

So, Roxas found himself going out a lot to get away, he never did anything for DIZ either, unlike Aqua, who seemed to feel she owed the old man. 

“Ven!” Aqua shouted. He turned around to see her running towards him. “Do you mind if I join you?” She asked.

“Of course not,” he answered truthfully. So they walked together.

They talked about everything, 10 years apart made both of them want to spend the time they did have together. They talked about the people they met, plans for the future, and even their suspicions. Ven was glad to hear that Aqua understood his feelings about DIZ, she took it much more seriously than he thought she would. 

They had been talking about Naminé when a cloaked figure appeared from the shadow. It stood taller than the both of them, long and lanky, casually walking out of a dark alley, looking around wildly. It’s eyes landed on Ven and Aqua, who had stopped.

“Well, well, well, well, well, I’ll be damned, I didn’t think I’d see you two again!” His voice was raspy, flat, and oddly familiar. “So, how’s the Keyblade Master and the kid been all these years! Ha!” He talked fast, the words forming more like thoughts than coherent sentences.

Aqua readied her keyblade as the strange figure looked them over. The figure bent down, a ponytail slid out from under his hood, it was long, thin, and covered in grey streaks.

Aqua pushed Ven behind her.

“Oh why so scared? I’m not going to hurt you! At least, not right now!” The figure dramatically lowered his hood. “Now, I need to make sure my eye isn’t deceiving me.” He glared at them. Ven recognized his face, even the long scar that went down the right side of it.

“Braig!?” Aqua shouted.

“Nope!” The figure said. “Well… I think I better tell the boss about this…” he grinned. “Well I’ll be seeing you two later!” He summoned a dark, swirling portal behind him and started to walk in it, never turning around.

Lighting fast, Aqua cast a blizzard spell straight towards the figure, he ducked, and fell right through the portal. Then he was gone.

Aqua was breathing heavily, and Ven realized he was clinging to her arm. He let go, but still held her hand, to give her support.

“Why, was he here? How was he here?” Aqua mumbled. She turned around sharply to face Ven. “We need to tell the others.” Ven nodded.

They ran back to the mansion, thankfully they hadn’t walked very far out yet, Aqua threw open the front doors and shouted. “Everyone! We need to talk! Now!” She rushed into the dining room, leaving Ven to close the door behind her, 

Miraculously, the other three were in the Mansion. They rushed to the dining room as Aqua shouted. “What is it?” Riku asked in a panic.

“I just saw a man who was allied with Xehanort 10 years ago, or at least, a lookalike,” Aqua explained, a little out of breath,

“What was his name when you met him?” DIZ asked.

“Well, 10 years ago there was a man named Braig, and he looked exactly like him but… he said he wasn’t him. But he obviously recognized us,” Aqua answered.

“That is a member of organization 13, be ready, they now know you have returned.” DIZ walked away.

“What! Are you not gonna explain anything? Aaaand he’s gone,” yelled Riku. He sighed. “I don’t know much, but I can at least explain the organization, Naminé, can you fill in the gaps?”

Naminé looked more nervous than Ven thought was ever possible, but she still nodded. “Yes,” she said. 

Riku sighed. “Organization 13 is a group of malicious individuals, who can use magic, that are currently trying to make their goal by any means necessary. Only six or seven of them are left after a... failed mission of theirs. Are we opposed to them? I don’t know, DIZ just sends me to annoy them a lot,” Riku explained. “And that’s all I know, really that was one of the better explanations DIZ has given.” He crossed his arms and sulked. 

“What is their goal?” Aqua asked. 

“To create an artificial Kingdom Hearts by killing heartless or something like that,” Riku answered. Ven felt his heart drop and he instinctively grabbed Aqua’s hand. He did not want to hear those words ever again.

“That’s not how it works! You’re just bunching up all the hearts into one place! If anything there’ll be a bunch of Heartless,” Aqua said.

“Wait… it isn’t how it works?” Naminé asked. Naminé looked nervous, she was anxiously tugging at her new jacket. She was wearing her new jacket, which made Ven happy, as she hadn’t for a few days, although she was still wearing the dress.

“Okay, okay.” Naminé took a deep breath. “Organization 13 is made up of Nobodies, which happen when a person with a strong enough heart falls to darkness, their heart becomes a heartless, and their body becomes a Nobody,” Naminé explained, talking slowly.

“Umm, gosh I feel stupid, what’s a heartless?” Ven asked. 

“They’re those little bug-shadow things that showed up like, once a year,” Aqua explained. “When people lose their hearts they become Heartless, endlessly searching to make themselves more Heartless.”

“And, the body becomes a Nobody… which are those noodle things right?”

“Yes,” answered Naminé. “When a person with a strong enough will, or a person who is determined enough, becomes a Nobody, their mind comes with them, and they retain a more humanoid form… and their memories. So that man you met, may have once been Braig, but he is not anymore, and, without a heart, he doesn’t really exist.” Naminé was pulling at her jacket, hard.

“Can’t imagine some of those guys falling to darkness.” Riku shook his head. “They”re so stupid.”

“It’s not always a choice, remember how Sora lost his?” Naminé said. Riku nodded slowly.

“Sora once lost his heart?” Ven asked, suddenly very afraid.

“He did it to save Kairi.” Riku shrugged “and her weird princess powers brought him back soon after, it’s not… a super big deal.” He was so nonchalant about it Ven found it a little hard to believe, Aqua however looked shocked.

“Kairi?” She asked. “Who’s that?”

“A friend of ours, from the island, why do you ask?”

Aqua looked nervous. “Just asking.” She looked away from Ven and Riku.

“I have actually been wondering about something, Roxas, the 13th member of the organization, why do I need to keep such a close eye on him, is he the nobody important?” Riku asked.

“Roxas… is Sora’s nobody, created from his original body before his heartless form was turned back into normal,” Naminé explained. “It’s amazing how he can… Exist alongside Sora, but… he could seriously hinder his recovery, that’s why.”

They all looked shocked for a moment. Ven couldn’t believe it, he remembered Naminé mentioning he looked like Roxas once, he didn’t think this would be the answer to why they looked the same.

“Oh… oh,” Riku stammered. “I… have to go.” He quickly walked out of the room, flushing a little as he walked. 

Naminé sighed. “I’m sorry, you deserved to have this explained to you before…. or by DIZ.” She brushed hair away from her face.

“It’s… fine, we just need some time to think,” Aqua told her. Her face had gone dark.

“I don’t,” Ven found himself saying. “I need to have an important conversation with DIZ.” He lifted his head up. Aqua nodded slowly, and he walked out to find the mysterious robed figure.

DIZ was only in the other room, staring out the window. “DIZ, may I ask why you didn’t explain this situation to us. I’m not so keen on killing people—“

“Let me make something clear to you Ventus, no Nobody is a person, they cannot be without hearts, and no Nobody, deserves to exist.” DIZ looked out the window as he interrupted Ven. “It’s best we just put them down.”

Ven did not like how he spoke of Nobodies, sure, they were up against organization 13, but Ven still didn’t fully understand why DIZ wants to destroy it, he swallowed the question. It might just have been that his phrasing did not sit well with him, it brought back painful memories.

“Another question, where is the base of the organization based?” Ven asked. 

“In the world that never was”

Ven walked out without any other word. He wanted to understand more, but he didn’t want to ask more of Naminé or Riku, so he decided to spy on the organization. He would tell Aqua, Naminé, maybe even Riku the information he finds, just not DIZ.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Xigbar is very fun to write, the way he talks is just, so interesting. He’s really over dramatic too.
> 
> These characters sometimes write themselves. Naminé was originally going to tell Riku, Ven, and Aqua she was a Nobody in this chapter, but instead she didn’t. I realized she probably wouldn’t want to ruin their opinions of her. 
> 
> The conversation between DIZ and Ven was long overdue, Ven sees some uncomfortable similarities to other people in DIZ, and DIZ just sees Ven as an angry child. (He isn’t wrong.) Ven is going to be exploring much of the org’s headquarters through this series... I wonder what he’ll find. 
> 
> Next chapter will be split between two snoops! Ven and Kairi, sneaking around.


	14. Hiding

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kairi is tying to sneak into a vault in Corona. 
> 
> At the same time, Ven has found himself in the Vents of the world that never was.

Kairi was tired of sitting in the back of this cart listening to the two men in front of her talk. They said nothing interesting, and talked more like the girls from school who always told Kairi she played too rough than thieves or heroes. Not that there was anything wrong with that. 

The men said they were close to town, so Kairi watched carefully for the first sign of civilization, so she could jump off, and find herself somewhere to stay. She could work from there, she hoped. 

Things went wrong when they ran into a guard, it seemed her companions didn’t expect to run into any guards, and they scrambled to run. Kairi realized as the guard attacked her that they thought she was an accomplice, which was just  _ great _ . She swore and ran off after the two men.

“Why were there guards there?” Lance asked in hushed whispers. 

“I don’t know I thought there wouldn't be!” Flynn Rider whispered back.

“Eh-Hem!” Karie coughed. “What the hell was that?” 

“Uuuh, a guard, which we were running away from,” Rider responded.

“Yeah no shit! But one, guard, singular, why did you run? She had no backup, and possibly no reason to stop us, you two just ran away! and I almost got stabbed, again!” Kairi wasn’t going to let them get away with taking away her chance at some normalcy.

Lance looked her up and down. “You know… there is a way we can pay you back…”

“No.”

“Come-on! It’s not anything scandalous. We have a heist planned, but our usual sneaky guy couldn’t come, so we were just gonna wing it, but you’re so small and… angry, you would do great!” Lance said. “We’d even give you a quarter of the earnings.” He clapped his hands together. 

“I’ll take a half, no less, I’m not a thief so you’ll need to offer more to get me to help,” Kairi said. She didn’t know how much money they would get and half would get her more than a quarter for sure.

Lance rubbed the back of his head. “I dunno, our funds are pretty—“

Rider put a hand on his friend's shoulder. “We really need the help,” he told him. “Half it is.”

Kairi sighed. “What do you need me to do?”

  
  
  


Ven was regretting his decision to sneak into the organization’s headquarters. He was very sneaky, but he knew nothing about the world or the layout of the castle. He found himself wandering aimlessly around old streets for an hour before he even found the entrance to the castle. 

Now that he was in the castle, he wished for a map. There was no way a member of the organization would find him, but he was lost in the ventilation system with no backup. He was starting to panic, Ven normally liked small spaces, but being trapped forever in a vent system was not the same as building a hidey-hole in the crawl space. 

He did find himself in a larger space, and although he couldn’t stand up in it, he considered it a good place to set up a camp… if he found his way back. 

As he crawled through the vents, he went over one, and decided to stop and observe. Several people in long black leather coats similar to Riku’s were walking around. 

The first one was the one he and Aqua had seen; the one who looked suspiciously like Briag. The second had a mullet, pulled back to not fall into his face. The third was tall with dark skin and long dreadlocks, Ven swore he looked familiar, but he could not figure out why.

“Demyx you got a report in from the colosseum?!” The first one asked. 

The one with the mullet, who was presumably Demyx sighed. “Yeah, not signs of that weird girl, and besides that there is nothing interesting going on there, just me, working my ass of, you guys ever think—“

“Yeah yeah we all know you don’t actually work. You make Roxas do everything when you’re on missions with him!”

“Like you don’t do the same with Xion,” the one with the dreads scoffed. His voice was gravely and accented.

“Ahhh well, poppet likes the work!” The first man grinned.

“Do we even know what she likes, she barely talks!” Demyx exclaimed. 

“Well I have better things to do than gossip,” the man with dreads said. He started to walk off.

“Ah, but Xaldin! I thought you would like our company!” 

Xaldin; the man with the dreads turned. “You know I cannot, Xigbar,” he said. 

So the man who looked like Briag was named Xigbar, Ven realized. It was a fitting name, somehow. What was more worrying to him was the comment Xaldin made, it implied something Ven didn’t fully understand, and he wasn’t sure if he wanted to. 

“Ah! Fine then! Go ask the blue one for something to do,” Xigbar scoffed.

“The blue… you mean Saïx?” 

“Yeah! Him, bluey moon boy or whatever…”

“Would it kill you to learn our names sometime!” Demyx cried. 

“Of course not mullet!” 

“You just… ugh! I’m gonna go practice.” Demyx stalked off in the opposite direction as Xaldin. 

Ven decided to follow Xaldin, as he was less annoying than the other two, and the odd familiarity around him was starting to get on his nerves. Ven was careful not to make any sound as he crawled through the vents. He lost Xaldin several times as the vents twisted and turned, but he always found his way back to him somehow. 

Xaldin walked over to another member of the organization. This one had long blue hair, and a large x-shaped scar over his face, he was oddly familiar as well. Ven felt his stomach sink. 

“Saïx, any reports?” Xaldin asked,

“None since the last time you asked, if you want to know more, search for information yourself,” the blue man said. His voice was smooth and deep, almost monotone.

“I think I will,” Xaldin replied. 

“Good, it’s time someone capable handled the imposter issue.”

“Have you heard Roxas’ claims of seeing a ‘lookalike’?” Xaldin asked.

“Well I’m not disregarding it.” Saïx crossed his arms.

“Good.” Xaldin turned around, not facing Saïx, and sighed.

“Well, I would say there’s more than just Roxas as a witness,” a different voice said.

The fourth man was a tall and skinny one, with a huge mane of spiked red hair. Ven’s eyes widened with dread, as he realized why he recognized Saïx, and why he recognized this new person as well.

  
  
  


Kairi was sick of the two men she was with bragging, thankfully, their bragging gave her important information. She was in the outskirts of the Kingdom of Corona, close to the wall, and they were stealing from a small base near the wall. Apparently the base was a “second treasury” for the royalty; information Rider and Lance had gotten out of a guard. 

They were walking along the path to the wall, the others said it was completely safe, but Kairi didn’t believe them, so she had her rapier drawn just in case. 

“You look nervous, this your first heist?” Lance asked. He talked with his hands, bringing the, up near his shoulders as he turned to face her.

“Technically yes,” Kairi responded.

“Well there’s a first for everything!” Flynn exclaimed. “We’re almost there, so, get ready for some sneaking! Remember what we told you?”

“Stay quiet and hidden, if I get in a fight, dodging is important, and to always keep on my toes,” Kairi repeated the words he had told her hours before.

“Great!” Flynn snapped his fingers. “Now hope we don’t get caught!”

Karin snuck around each side of the building, looking for an opening. Most of the building was part of the wall and made of the same polished stone, except for a small entrance that jutted out, where Lance was distracting the guards. When she saw one, it was 20 feet up on the wall. She groaned, stretched, and started climbing.

Climbing the nooks and crevices of a steep wall was nothing like climbing rocks. The surface was slippery, and footholds scarce and patterned. She found her arms became tense as she pulled herself up several ledges, all while praying that she wasn’t seen. Somehow though, she made it the 20 feet, she didn’t sit in fear of just collapsing, and although she was out of breath, she kept going. 

The room the opening led into was not of the main vault, and instead part of a staircase that led to a small watchtower. Kairi slowly inched her way down the stairs, and listened in on the guards conversation, waiting for the right moment.

“You know nothing happens here when they won’t even fix the breach,” one guard complained. 

“You know there isn’t much in this vault, just some valuable information and a little coin,” the other responded. Kairi sucked in a breath, realizing her mistake of trusting two thieves to tell her what they were stealing.

The guards bickered on, and when one got up, she moved closer. Creeping around the entrance, Kairi saw their keys. She quickly grabbed it, and tried to quietly make her way up the stairs. 

“Someone’s here,” a third voice said. It was low and female, full of confidence. The guards got up and started searching, it would only be a little while until she was spotted. 

Kairi broke into a run up the stairs. Still panting from her climb, she somehow made it to the top. Flynn rider was standing below it.

“What did you do?!” He shouted, voice high and panicked.

“I thought there were only two guards in there, turns out there’s three!” Kairi responded. She would yell at them later, if she ever made it without getting put in jail, or worse, dying. Kairi looked back and heard the guards coming up the stairs. “Catch!” She shouted, throwing the keys down to Flynn Rider. 

A woman in a long shirt and leggings ran up the stairs, wore simple boots and long sleeves underneath the shirt. It all seemed like an odd choice of clothing for a guard, her hair was cut short, and she held her sword with more confidence than Kairi could muster. 

Kairi couldn’t make it back down in time, she knew that she would have to stand and fight. She tightened her grip on her rapier, and held it in front of her as a block.

“Hmm, thought those two would be more honorable than this… but instead they seem to be hiding behind a little girl.” The woman cast a glance down at Flynn Rider and Lance. “Pathetic, but…” she shrugged. “A thief is a thief.”

The woman charged at Kairi, blade pointed straight at her. Kairi scrambled out of the way, forgetting that she still had her rapier. The woman grunted and swung again, Kairi raised her sword up to meet it, finding herself pushed back by the force of the hit.

Kairi sprawled out into the ground, her hands instinctively came to her face, and she bunched up. It took only a moment for her to adapt and crawl back into her feet. The woman in front of Kairi was giving her a curious expression, then she charged again.

The woman did not have her sword pointed at Kairi though, which might’ve been why she didn’t dodge in time. The woman took Kairi by the collar and held her up, they were looking eye-to-eye.

“They just picked you up from the street didn’t they?” The woman asked. Kairi only managed a nod. “Let’s… make a deal, I’ll give you ten seconds, run as fast as you can towards the town, and don’t get in trouble again. You’re lucky this place doesn’t have much of actual value.” She dropped Kairi. With a nod, Kairi ran off.

She ran along the edge of the wall a bit, just to get away from the two men. When she got far enough, she climbed down as carefully as she could. She was thankfully near a road, one that would hopefully lead to town. Her problem with shelter would be solved later, she just needed to get to town first. 

When she finally found her way to town, Kairi was barely able to stand. She crawled her way into some dark alley behind a bakery, and hoped it was safe to sleep in.

  
  
  


Ven couldn’t believe what he was seeing, or he could believe it, and fate was just playing a cruel joke on him. Saïx, the tall, blue-haired man with a large scar in his face, apparently had a friend who was a redhead. Ven knew logically, ten years had passed, but he still couldn’t believe it.

Saïx and the redhead looked exactly like Lea and Isa; two boys he had met in Radiant Garden, or at least, adult versions of them. It couldn’t be them though… he couldn’t see it happening.

Unless something terrible happened. 

“Oh? What do you have to say Axel?” Saïx asked the Redhead. 

“Oh you-know… Xion and I were there,” Axel commented. His voice was confident. “And besides, we both know there’s a… possibility.”

“It’s unlikely.” Saïx gave Axel a strange look.

“I think I’ll get searching then,” Xaldin said, almost like he was making an announcement.

Axel turned his back toward them. “Yeah… you do that,” he said. Before walking away himself. 

Ven took a deep breath, then several more. They act nothing like them, he told himself, you’re just overreacting. He watched the small group disperse, as he got his breathing under control. 

Ven sat there for hours, watching the movement of the organization members, he never was really patient though, and he found himself very antsy, stuck in his own thoughts.

A new, shorter figure then caught Ven’s attention. Ven’s eyes widened as he saw their face. This new person looked exactly like him. Which, he should’ve expected, Naminé had said one of the organization members (Roxas) looked like him, but it was still a shock. Roxas was followed by a girl mostly dressed in black and white, with long black hair. Ven felt like he should recognize her, but he didn’t.

“Roxas, where’s Axel?” The girl asked. Her choice was sweet and soft, and a little nervous.

“Well, he said he’d be here… maybe we should wait?” Roxas replied. Ven was surprised to hear his voice, as it sounded nothing like his, even though they looked so similar. There was an anger to Roxas’ voice, one Ven could never imagine having himself. 

“You’re right…” the girl leaned back on the wall. “If he isn’t here soon, let’s just meet at the clock tower anyway.”

Roxas nodded, and the two started to talk between them. It sounded more like gossip to Ven, nothing useful, and almost nothing interesting.

“Ah there you two are! Thought you’d be in the lounge!” Axel shouted from down the hall. Ven’s head snapped towards the startling sound of his voice.

“Oh… right, that is where we were going to meet,” the girl smiled sheepishly.

“I knew we forgot something! Shouted Roxas. 

“A well, we’re here now… come-on, let’s get to the clock tower.” The three walked off together.

Ven sighed and crawled back to the larger spot in the vents he found. He realized quickly that next time he wanted to scout, he should bring a notebook.

  
  
  


Kairi was woken up by the frantic voice of a woman.

“Oh nooo, you poor thing! Where’s your parents? Why are you out here alone?” The voice bombarded her with questions. 

Kairi opened her eyes to see a duck, standing on two legs, and wearing clothes. She rubbed her eyes a bit, and then remembered Donald; one of Sora’s companions. The woman had hair that fell to her shoulders and was wearing an aviator’s uniform of all things.

Kairi groaned. “I’m uuuh, looking for my friends. But I need to sleep, and I have no money… and yeah,” she answered. 

“And your parents?”

Karin crossed her arms. “Trust me, I’m fine.” She was not confident in what she was saying.

The woman sighed. “Well, I’m looking for someone too, it’s my brother he ran off to look for the king and I haven’t seen him since,” she said. Karin somehow knew the king she was talking about wasn’t the king of Corona.

“... what is your brother’s name?” Asked Kairi.

“Donald, he’s dumb and angry” the duck responded.

Karin brushed her hair back. “Well… you’re not from this world are you?”

“I could say the same about you.”

“That’s fair… look, I’ve seen Donald Duck recently.” She scratched her head. “kinda, he was in Hollow Bastion, he isn’t there now obviously. But” Kairi took a deep breath.” his third traveling companion, the one who isn’t goofy. I’m pretty sure that’s my friend.” Karin rubbed the back of her head. “So… if you find them… can you tell—“

“I have a better idea! We look for them together!” The woman interrupted. She pointed her finger back and forth between her and Kairi rapidly.

Kairi smiled weakly. “That… sounds good… but, how?”

“Oh, please, you're talking to Della Duck, captain of the Disney town Air Force. I obviously have a gummi ship,” Della answered. 

“Oh! Well, it’s nice to meet you Della, I’m Kairi.” Kairi’s smile widened a little.

“Well Kairi, want to get going? Sleeping in the ship beats sleeping on the streets,” Della asked. 

“Let’s go.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Two more chapters of this arc to go! Don’t worry, there will be another fic in this series, I just needed to separate them for my sanity. 
> 
> Ven sneaking around in the Organization’s vents was one of my first ideas for this fic. I just thought it was hilarious. The idea of it being for intel came later, and later than that came the idea for different interactions with org members. Not to spoil anything, but Ven will be having an actual conversation with an org member! 
> 
> How weird must it be to wake up from a 10 year long coma, and have the two kids your made friends with grow up to be cult members? Ven also thinks they became cult members on purpose, but they didn’t.
> 
> I don’t mean to make Lance and Eugene look bad, but they kinda do it on their own. Especially compared to Kairi, who has a much nobler goal.
> 
> Kairi is not gonna be good at fighting right away, no one is! If I started this fic at KH1 times, I would’ve had Sora go through the same problems. The main thing I want people to take away is that Kairi is going to be an active player in the plot, not just a passive one.
> 
> Della Duck makes an appearance! I needed a way to get Kairi moving on her own accord, so I needed a character who would have a gummie ship. Choosing from the roster of well known Disney characters didn’t work, so I dug deeper, and decided to use someone from the recent duck tales reboot. Meet Della Duck! Twin sister to Donald, mother to Hewey, Dewey, and Louie, and captain of Disney town Air Force. She seemed like a good pick.
> 
> Ven needs to work out how he’s gonna hide better before he gives Axel a heart attack. (And he doesn’t even have a heart!)
> 
> Next time, Aqua and Riku follow up on a lead.


	15. Allies in strange places

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Aqua, Ventus, and Riku investigate for signs of Organization activity in the Castle in Hollow Bastion.

Riku was more surprised than he should’ve been when Ven walked up to him asking to talk. Not only had the other boy been gone for a week, but the others seemed to naturally avoid him anyway. Riku understood why, he was strange, and probably scary, not that he liked thinking about it.

“What is it Ven?” Riku asked. He tried not to sound confused.

“Oh um, you were the first person I thought of to give information too… you and Aqua anyway…” Ven replied. He was looking down at his shoes and fidgeting with his thumbs.

“Oh?”

“Ah anyway she should be here soon, and… I’ll tell you, you both!” Ven said, Riku’s heart dropped a little. He was avoiding Aqua the most, something about her made him very scared.

Aqua walked in a couple minutes later. She had her hair done up in a simple bun and was wearing a hoodie. She seemed taken aback by Riku at first, but shrugged it off so fast Riku thought he may have imagined it.

“Okay, okay, Umm. I wanted Naminé to be here too, but she said that she couldn’t come… anyway! You know how I was gone for a week?” Ven started. 

“Yes.” Aqua crossed her arms. “I’ve been meaning to talk to you about that…”

“Well uuuh. I was spying on organization 13, in their headquarters. Even if I… have some personal issues with fighting them, we still need to fight them. So, I decided to spy on them, and I have a good lead on where to look for more information on their plans… I think at least,” Ven explained.

“Wait, you were spying on them?” Riku asked. 

“Uuuh yeah, in the vents,” Ven answered. 

“But what if you got caught?!” Aqua asked.

“I didn’t,” Ven replied. “Anyway, the castle in a world called Hollow Bastion is important to them somehow, at least, they mentioned it? Anyway, what interests me is that it used to be Radiant Garden, so something happened. I was going to ask if anyone wanted to check it out?”

“With you?” Asked Aqua.

“Yeah…”

“Okay, we should all go, just in case,” Aqua said. 

Riku blanched. “What?”

“What, do you always work alone or something?” Aqua commented.

“Yeah… normally…”

“Well it would be safer for all three of us to go. We don’t know what will be there, could be heartless, lesser nobodies, or even an organization member!” Aqua scoffed. “Really the only thing I know for sure won’t be there is unversed.”

“What’s a—“ 

“Anyway, you don’t have to go with us… but I think you should,” Aqua said. Riku felt more like he was being ordered, so he complied, despite his own fears. 

As Aqua walked away to begin preparing, Riku heard Ven sigh. “She can’t just… ugh! I’m sorry…” he said. 

Riku patted Ven on the head. “Don’t worry about it,” Riku said. He was not taking his own advice though, and knots formed in his stomach. “Let’s hurry, we don’t wanna leave her waiting.”

  
  
  


Ven could cut the tension with a knife, as Aqua explained their plan, he could feel Riku tense. The other boy was not subtle in his fear, and although Ven didn’t understand why he was afraid, as Ven didn’t think Aqua could be scary, but he still sympathized.

They had split up once they reached the castle in the center of Hollow Bastion, to cover more ground. The castle was oddly quiet, no Nobodies or heartless in sight. The only thing that seemed to be in his part of the castle was Ven. 

He wished someone was with him, he wished Aqua and Terra were with him, that his life hadn’t gone so awry, but he couldn’t change it, so he searched the castle in calm silence.

The castle was eerie, it had obviously once been a place where many people lived and worked, but now, it sat abandoned, even while the rest of Hollow Bastion was rebuilding. Ven couldn’t help but miss something he had never seen, simply because he knew that it once had been so much more. 

Slowly, Ven came upon an area that looked more lived in, some of the dust had been cleared, and the old furniture used. He could see small tracks from here books had been dragged out of their shelves. Signs of someone actually being here seemed good, although Ven knew it didn’t mean that it was was good. 

Ven took a deep breath. “Hello? Anyone there?” As me spoke, several loud crashes sounded in a nearby room.

Ven walked toward the sound. The source of the sound was several books being locked over by a person. The person seemed to be shorter than Aqua, but taller than Ven, he was wearing a large brown jacket that was way too big, and his hair was falling over half his face.

“Um… oh I’m sorry but, why are you here?” The person asked, his voice was quiet and soft.

“Oh! Uh sorry… a few friends and I were looking around here…” Ven said. He couldn’t finish the thought, how could he, the explanation would make no sense to an outside viewer “we didn’t know anyone still lived here.”

The person smiled. “You’re not from Hollow Bastion are you? Well, if you're looking for the heartless, there’s been a strange lack of them.” He shrugged. “I thought I’d have to block off huge portions of the castle due to their swarming but… there’s nothing.”

Ven’s eyes widened. “Wait you know about… never mind, we were actually looking for signs of activity from a suspicious organization. You know what Heartless are right? So you should know about Nobodies. This organization is made up of em,” He explained.

The person flinched a little. “There is no activity of Organization 13 here, they wouldn’t last very long in Hollow Bastion, to many angry swordsmen.” 

“Oh… well uh… can I get your name?” Ven asked. 

“Ienzo,” the other said. “And you are?”

It took Ven a moment to process everything. “I’m Ventus but call me Ven!” He said. Ven recognized the name Ienzo, but it didn’t surprise him after the momentary shock, in fact, he was a little glad that someone he met before seemed to be well. 

“Well Ventus is there anything you may need to research, there is an extensive library, I could show you where the information you need is,” Ienzo offered. 

“Aren’t you a little mad about me… breaking into your house?”

“No, nobody knows we’re here, so it was bound to happen, I am glad it was you and not someone with more of a vendetta,” Ienzo explained. He wore a kind smile as he spoke. 

“Ah well, we still broke in. There were two other people with me, I should find them and tell them this place is a dead end.” Ven rubbed his neck. “But if we need to find some specific information, we know who to ask!”

Ienzo nodded. The other boy had started stacking up the fallen books as they talked. If he had any organization system to the piles of books in the room, Ven couldn’t see one. 

“Well, I have to go, see you later?” Ven said with a simple wave. 

“Hopefully, it was nice meeting you Ven.” Ienzo waved back.

Ven turned around and opened the door to leave, and came face-to-face with Riku. He was dressed in his usually black jacket, and for some reason, he was also wearing a blindfold. Ven didn’t know how he could see with it on, but it wasn’t his business. 

“Oh Ven! Seemed we caught up with one another…” Riku quickly took off the blindfold he was wearing. The boy’s eyes were narrowed.

“Uhhh yeah! So… it seems we broke into someone’s house,” Ven explained.

“Or you were just lied to,” Riku offered.

“Well probably no—“

Riku pushed Ven aside and walked into the room. He summoned a strange sword and pointed it at Ienzo. “You,” he growled.

“Oh there’s someone with a Vendetta,” Ienzo stiffened, and Ven saw him Flinch when Riku spoke. “Hello Riku.”

Ven’s eyes widened. “Riku don’t attack him!” Ven grabbed his sword arm and pointed it downward. “You two have met before?” He asked. 

“He trapped me in an illusion!” Riku shouted. “He’s a member of the organization Ven!”

Ven narrowed his eyes. He looked between an Angry Riku and scared Ienzo, he understood why Riku was so angry, if Ienzo was a member of the organization, they were in a lot of danger, but Ven couldn’t bring himself to believe all of what Riku was saying.

“Riku, stop,” Ven ordered. “I think there’s more to this.” Ven stared into the other boy’s silver-blue eyes and saw shame and fear, not anger. 

“Thank you… Ventus. While some of what Riku says is true, there is one correction I have to make. I am an ex-organization member,” Ienzo explained. “Riku, I… I understand your anger, but, to right my own wrongs, I need to be able to help.” 

“Ex-organization?” Riku asked, he dismissed his sword.

“Well, yes. You see, recently we have come across some new information regarding the nature of Nobodies. You see, it seems when a powerful enough Nobody is killed, along with the corresponding heartless, the original person can come back. We don’t know the limits of this strange occurrence though, as only 3 of the 5 Nobodies killed at castle oblivion have returned as their sombodies,” Ienzo continued. 

“Wait! So you were a member of the Organization?” Ven asked. 

“Unfortunately yes,” Ienzo answered. 

Riku looked around sheepishly. “Uhh, well I’m sorry…”

“Don’t be, it was somewhat deserved.” Ienzo smiled. 

“Do you, by chance have a different name?”

“It’s Ienzo.”

“So… that information changes things…” Riku mumbled. 

“I would not recommend attacking the organization based on that information though, we just don’t know enough. Additionally, they would kill you if you seemed to be after them,” Ienzo offered.

They stood there awkwardly for a moment, until a loud crash sounded from the other room. Along with shouting that sounded like Aqua’s voice. 

“That’s Aqua…” Ven observed.

“We should deal with that, shouldn't we?” Riku asked. 

“Yeah.” 

Ven and Riku ran out of the room, and towards the source of the noise. The room wasn’t very far, just down the hall and took the right, but when they entered Ven didn’t see what he expected. He had expected to see Aqua battling with a Heartless or Nobody, instead, she had frozen an older looking man to the ground.

The man had an angular, wrinkled face with long grayish-blonde hair. He was shouting angrily at Aqua. “What… how! This shouldn’t be possible! Answer my questions this instant!” He shouted.

Aqua scoffed. “Well, answer mine first, who do you work for?” He retorted.

The man looked away. “You do not need to know that! The workings of the organization don’t concern you!”

Aqua drew her keyblade. “Actually, it does,” she said.

“Aqua!!” Ven shouted.

“Oh! Ven, Riku. I have good news, we were right in assuming that this place is a hideout for the organization.“

“That’s not it!” Ven shouted. “The situation is more complicated than we tho—“

“Ven. You heard him.” Aqua cut him off. “This place is probably full of…” Aqua trailed off, her eyes focused in the doorway behind them.

“You-know, I had assumed a Nobody or Heartless had finally gotten in here. Miss, I ask you to keep him alive, he may seem like an ass, but i would prefer it if he lived.” Ienzo walked through the door. His voice was steady and calm, but he was trembling.

“And who are you?” Aqua asked. As she spoke, the old man shouted something incomprehensible. 

“My name is Ienzo, I live here,” he responded. He let out a heavy sigh. “I assume yiu are with Riku and Ventus?”

“Yes, now tell me, what are you two doing here?” Aqua shouted. 

“Well this place used to be for research, but unfortunately—“

“What! Zexion! What are you doing just chatting with these people! Help me at once we need to return to the base immediately!” The old man shouted. Ienzo flinched as he spoke.

“I thought he would’ve figured everything out by now…” ienzo shook his head. “Well, I’m not going back there, ever, you shouldn’t either.” He crossed his arms. “To continue, this place had been abandoned for little under ten years, so much of the equipment is out of date, but we still have plenty of valuable information in the library, if you ever need information, feel free to stop by.”

“What? Why are you helping them!” The old man shouted. 

“Because I have mistakes I wish to atone for. Don’t you have those too,  _ Even _ ?”

The old man, who Ven realized was Even, spluttered for a moment. “I-Umm, I need to leave for a moment…” he said. Aqua unfroze him, and he rushed out of the room.

Ienzo put on a fake smile. “I apologize, Riku, Ventus, I assume you will explain the situation to Miss—“

“Aqua.”

“Miss Aqua, it is not something I want to discuss again at the moment,” Ienzo said. Ven nodded, he would’ve told Aqua anyway.

“So, you’re offering us information?” Aqua asked. 

Ienzo nodded. “Sadly, I do not have much in the current activities of Organization 13,” he said.

“That’s fine, I… I just have one question,” Aqua murmured, her voice low and sad. “Do you have any records of a man named Terra?”

Ven locked eyes with Aqua, and tried to give her a reassuring smile. 

“Well, you can look around more later… but I do not recall anyone named Terra… maybe a description would help?” 

“Well, he was tall, has long brown hair and.” Ven suddenly had a realization, and was gesturing around wildly to get Aqua’s attention. “Yes Ven?”

“Okay… this question is a long shot but… what about anyone named Xehanort?” He asked. At the sound of the name, Ienzo flinched a little. 

“Yes, that name is familiar, he was, he was one the apprentices working under Ansem the wise; the Master of this house. Xehanort was… strange, Master Ansem and two of the others had found him passed out on the streets or Radiant Garden 10 some years ago, they took him in. He didn’t remember his past at all, only his name, he had started the experiments that lead to the creation of organization 13,” Ienzo explained. 

Aqua had pulled a hand to her mouth. “Terra…” she mumbled. Ven looked up at Ienzo sadly, the other boy didn’t know the full context of the story, but Ven still couldn’t help but look for answers in his eyes. To know that one of his best friends had spent 10 years imprisoned in his own mind… it didn’t bring Ven much hope.

“What was he like?” Ven asked, more curious than anything.

“He was… even stranger than his story. Usually he was an efficient, somewhat cruel scientist, but, there were moments, where he showed uncharacteristic kindness. One moment he would be discussing the limits of the heart with Dilan, the next, he would be patching up my scraped knees.” Ienzo looked away from them as he spoke, avoiding any eye contact. 

Riku sighed. “May I ask why you wanted to know?” 

“This Xehanort… he has a connection with Terra,” Aqua carefully explained. Riku nodded. 

“Is that all?” Ienzo asked quietly. 

“Yes.” Aqua walked up to him. “Thank you, you don’t know how much this means to Ven and I.”

“I-I think I can guess.” Ienzo looked over to Riku, who suddenly looked sick. “Riku… may we talk for a moment?” He asked. 

“Um… sure?” Riku said, phrasing it more like a question.

“Well then we’ll be waiting,” Aqua commented. “Come on Ven.” She started to walk to the exit of the castle. 

Now that Ven knew the castle was inhabited, it seemed less scary to him, it was less a haunted mansion and more a place that had just fallen into disrepair. He was glad that the place was lived in, and that they had allies in the people who lived there.

A few moments later, Riku renturned, his eyes were downturned, and he seemed to be thinking.

“Oh how did it go!? What did he want to talk about?” Ven asked him.

Riku looked away. “Just our shared past, it was fine,” he said. Riku’s voice was sharp, nothing like what it usually sounded like, and he avoided eye contact the whole trip back.

After they reached Twilight Town, Riku left, and Ven couldn’t help but wonder why.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy New Year!
> 
> This is gonna be the last we see of the Radiant Garden gang until KH2 time, so say goodbye! Next time we see Even I promise I will be fairer to him. In my defense, I think he’s a bit of a creep. Now I realize Aeleus didn’t show up at all, my mistake, he was supposed to be here. 
> 
> Ven’s had a rough few weeks, he’s realized a lot of the friends he made 10-is years ago are now... at their tragic ends. Just don’t tell him about Zach!
> 
> So, you guys know how Riku is struggling with Darkness all throughout Days, and you know how Aqua feels about Darkness. Just... keep that in the back of your minds. 
> 
> On the subject of Riku, this marks the start of his downward spiral, his arm is really good, so I’m leaving it somewhat intact.
> 
> I needed to actually mention Terra at some point, I’m sorry I forgot about the himbo for so long. Ven asks about Xehanort because of fear, Aqua hasn't told him about Terranort, she’s afraid to bring it up, and she has other hang-ups about it too. 
> 
> Since Terra is shown fighting for control both in BBS, KH2, and 0.2, I assume that sometimes he wins over control for a bit, and, without knowing what else to do, used that control to be kind to the 7-year-old. 
> 
> Next chapter, a time skip, a wrap-up, and some ice cream.


	16. Day 118

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A break is taken
> 
> The end of the first arc

Aqua hadn’t seen much of Riku after they went to Hollow Bastion. She was worried about him, but every time she tried to find him, he was gone, off doing some mission, or brooding somewhere. It pained her to not be able to talk to him, she felt like she needed to protect and care for all of the children she was with, even Riku.

Ven seemed to be gone more and more as well, but Aqua understood a little more, the boy hated staying still, and would often make himself useful by sneaking around or by defeating strong heartless. Even though he seemed to be doing fine, Aqua still worried about him, he’d been through so much. 

Sometimes, Ven and Aqua would leave to search for information about Terra, but, with their debt to Sora (and Naminé) left unpaid until he woke, neither of them felt good about leaving for long.

Naminé always came in to visit and talk when she could. Sometimes the younger girl worried Aqua though, she didn’t seem to care much about her own well-being . She was so tiny, and so nervous all the time, Aqua tried to convince herself she was being overdramatic, but she never really knew if that was true. 

Aqua sighed and got back to baking. Ven was coming back from his longest trip ever, and Aqua wanted to make his favorite cookies for the occasion. She wasn’t just baking for Ven though, cooking was one of the only things she could do to calm down. with all the other work she’d been doing it was very much needed.

“What are you making?” Naminé crept into the kitchen.

Aqua greeted the girl with a smile. “M&M cookies! They’re like chocolate chip cookies, but instead of chocolate chips you use M&Ms, Ven said he’d be home today, and since he’s been gone so long I wanted to surprise him with one of his favorite foods.” Aqua smiled sheepishly. “Do you have a favorite?”

Naminé blushed. “Oh no! I’ve never had— well I don’t really know…” she said. 

Aqua thought. “Well come up with a favorite before your birthday and I’ll make it for you.”

Naminé blushed even more. “You don’t have to! You’ve already done so much for me!”

Aqua patted the girl’s head. “I like taking care of people,” she murmured.

Naminé watched Aqua as she baked, and Aqua was glad to have her presence there, even if they didn’t talk much.

Roxas didn’t know what to do with a whole day off, Axel said he was sleeping, but he didn’t like the idea of doing that. So he found himself idly walking around the base as if in a daze, when he ran into Xion, who was doing the same thing.

“Oh hi Roxas! I was just thinking of going to train…” Xion said. 

“But, that isn’t fun!” Roxas commented. 

“Yeah but, what else is there to do?” Xion brushed some hair out of her face.

“I dunno, but there has to be something! Even Saïx isn’t working today.”

“I don’t think sitting around reading and drinking coffee counts as fun Roxas.”

Roxas smiled sheepishly “me neither,” he said. “Do you want to go to Twilight Town and just, wander for a bit?”

“Well I don’t have anything better to do.”

Walking the streets of Twilight Town just felt right, he had always felt comfortable there, even when on dangerous missions. But without a mission, Roxas noticed things he wouldn’t normally notice, like the 3 kids he saw often just, playing around.

“Oh? What are they doing?” Xion voiced Roxas’ thoughts.

“Wanna go check it out?” Roxas asked. Xion nodded. 

They watched the other kids playing for a while. There were two boys; Hayner and Pence, as well as a girl; Olette. They seemed to just be enjoying laughing with one another. The two of them just listened to the kids yell at each other for a while, until one of the boys, Hayner, he thought, spotted him and Xion.

“Hey! Why are you guys watching? Think you can beat my grandstander score?!” Hayner shouted.

“Uh, no. No” Xion stuttered. 

“Yeah, I could,” responded Roxas. “What’s the rules?”

“Keep the ball up in the air,” The other boy; Pence, explained. 

Roxas swung the ball up in the air, and using the flimsy foam bat he was given, kept it up by hitting it. Roxas was good at it too, doing tricks and letting it fall down to show off. Xion stood by and laughed, the three others stared in awe and fear. 

When he finished the others cheered, and he had beaten Hayner’s high score, by a lot. The other boy seemed to be stricken between feeling angry and amazed, and resorted to a thumbs up.

“What? Upset I beat you?” Roxas asked. 

“Yeah, obviously.” Hayner crossed his arms and looked away. 

Xion tugged at Roxas’ arm. “Let’s go get ice cream,” she said. 

“Yeah, see you three!” Roxas and Xion waved goodbye to the three kids, and started to go to the clocktower.

Xion had decided to try a new flavor, which Roxas was curious about. It was a dark brown color, on a cone, and called chocolate. She seemed to be enjoying it very much.

“Ah, you two up here already?” Axel asked. Roxas and Xion turned toward him.

“I heard you slept all day!” Xion teased.

“Yup! Slept like a log!”

“Why do you sleep so much?” Roxas asked as he handed Axel his ice cream.

“Well unlike you two I work hard! Gotta make up for that somehow!” Axel replied. He put his arm around Roxas and Xion’s shoulders.

Xion grinned “Unlike us? Maybe you’re just… out of shape!” It seemed like she made it up on the spot.

“Yeah, yeah, whatever.” Axel rolled his eyes. “Anyway, they’re having me leave on. Another mission soon for a few days, top secret.” Axel rubbed the back of his head.

“What?! Why?” Roxas and Xion asked at the same time.

“To scout and stuff…”

“But, where?”

“Can’t tell you.” Axel put a finger on his lips. “Top secret.”

Seeing the looks in their faces, Axel clarified. “Really I can’t tell you because Saïx would get on my case about it, you know how he gets.”

Roxas and Xion did know, all too well. 

“Anyway, Xion, you got chocolate ice cream? Traitor!” Axel jokingly pushed her shoulder. 

“Oh shut up!” Xion pushed him back, and they all laughed.

Ven really wanted ice cream, he watched the three organization members joke around and eat their ice cream, and he wanted to be able to have that with Terra and Aqua again. They would find Terra, their life would go back to normal. It just had too.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I can’t believe I already finished the first arc of this thing! Now that everything’s set-up, I can get into the fun stuff! Although you might’ve noticed, this fic is over. That was done for my own sanity, each arc of this au fic is going to be its own seperate fic in the series (so go bookmark that to get updates). There’s one more arc in the “days” portion, at least 2 for KH2 and DDD doesn’t exist anymore but there’s still an arc there. 
> 
> I don’t have much to say about the actual chapter. Aqua stress bakes and loves taking care of people, Naminé is still coming to terms with having people be nice, and coming to term with her existence.
> 
> I did really want to do 1 more sea-salt-trio scene, even though they’re not in this fic much. Next arc is much more focused on them. 
> 
> Stay tuned for the next arc “the organization’s blades”
> 
> If you have any questions about this AU, feel free to comment them! I’ll try my best to answer!


End file.
